SEC Extra Points: After Chad Kelly and Joshua Dobbs, Where Are the QBs?

The annual circus known as SEC media days will take place from July 11-14 in Hoover, Alabama, where the assembled members of the media will speak with coaches, players and vote on predicted order of finish and the preseason All-SEC teams.

When we do head to the ballot box, we will have a tough decision to make.

Who should be the third-team All-SEC quarterback?

Unless there's an incredible upset, Ole Miss' Chad Kelly and Tennessee's Joshua Dobbs will be on the first two teams. The third choice is anybody's guess.

Based on SEC success, the only viable choice is LSU quarterback Brandon Harris. The rising junior from Bossier City, Louisiana, completed 53.6 percent (148-for-276) of his passes a year ago for 2,158 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions while also adding 226 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.

Not exactly earth-shattering numbers for Harris who, while similar to Dobbs in production through the air, is a far cry from the Volunteer signal-caller on the ground.

If Harris doesn't do it for you, where else can you go?

Jackson Laizure/Getty Images

The only other viable option is Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight—who has played precisely two games against SEC competition while he was at Oklahoma. Granted, those were two good games—348 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Alabama in the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl and 308 yards and a touchdown versus Tennessee in Game 3 of the 2014 regular season.

But Knight lost his job to Baker Mayfield, was incredibly inconsistent in other starts with the Sooners and doesn't exactly strike fear in opposing defenses.

After Harris and Knight, who would you pick? Georgia's Greyson Lambert? Auburn's Jeremy Johnson? Those two players might not win starting jobs and didn't exactly impress in 2015. 

The preseason All-SEC vote at quarterback will be an indictment of the state of the position in the SEC. Whether it is poor development, stubbornness from a philosophical standpoint or outright misses on the recruiting trail, the position that was once a strength in 2012 and 2013 has fallen into the abyss.

It doesn't have to stay that way once the season starts. But until then, it's hard to find where all of the quarterbacks have gone.

Player	School	Comp. %	Yds.	TDs	INTs	Rush Yds.	Rush TDs
Chad Kelly	Ole Miss	65.1	4,042	31	13	500	10
Joshua Dobbs	Tennessee	59.6	2,291	15	5	671	11
Brandon Harris	LSU	53.6	2,158	13	6	226	4
Trevor Knight*	Texas A&M	55.0	305	2	2	69	1
Greyson Lambert	Georgia	63.3	1,959	12	2	-39	1
Perry Orth	South Carolina	54.8	1,929	12	9	138	2
Drew Lock	Missouri	49.0	1,332	4	8	28	1
Jeremy Johnson	Auburn	60.5	1,054	10	7	137	6

Kirby's Law

In what is his first real test as a disciplinarian at Georgia, head coach Kirby Smart made the obvious choice. 

Defensive back Chad Clay was arrested and charged with theft by taking—his second arrest in four months—and promptly dismissed from the program, according to Seth Emerson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

"Unfortunately, Chad will no longer be a part of our football program," Smart said in a statement, per Emerson. "It is very disappointing, and we wish him the best in his efforts to continue his education."

Clay was arrested earlier in the offseason, along with early enrollee defensive tackle Julian Rochester, for firing a BB gun on campus. 

Clay and Rochester's previous cases involve felonies. While those are still pending, Clay being arrested twice in one offseason speaks to incredibly poor decision-making.

Felony or otherwise, Clay made it impossible for Smart to trust him to make the right decisions off the field, so how could he be trusted to make the right decisions on it?

Smart has now set the tone within the Georgia program—one that his predecessor Mark Richt also set—that poor decisions have serious consequences. That message should resonate with the Georgia players who are still getting to know the intricacies of their new head coach.

A Welcomed Addition

Missouri's running back situation looked bleak earlier this offseason when junior college transfer and 2016 signee Nate Strong ran into some academic issues that will delay his enrollment until January, according to Frank Cusumano of KSDK.

Immediate help is on the way, though.

Missouri announced Wednesday that Oklahoma graduate transfer Alex Ross is now a member of the Missouri football program:

The addition of Ross is huge for a Missouri rushing attack that finished last in the SEC with 115.42 yards per game and 118th in the nation in yards per carry at 3.49.

Ross, a 6'1", 221-pounder, has the speed to be a weapon in space and on special teams, but also has the size and strength to be a monster between the tackles. That's important, because Missouri's leading returning rusher—Ish Witter—is only 190 pounds and more of a home run hitter than a bruiser. 

Ross took a back seat last year to Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon, but did rush for 595 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore in 2014 and has two career kickoff returns for touchdowns.

With Drew Lock entering his first full season as the starting quarterback, a passing attack that has been less than stellar over the last couple of years and a questionable offensive line, having a somewhat proven commodity at running back is imperative for first-year head coach Barry Odom.

Ross is that guy.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Getting Thin

Tennessee's wide receiving depth took a hit this week when the school confirmed to Wes Rucker of 247Sports that Vincent Perry, a 5'10", 175-pound redshirt freshman, has been ruled academically ineligible. 

According to Rucker, Perry will stay at school, pay his own way this fall and work to regain his scholarship and eligibility for the 2017 season.

Is this a big deal? Sort of.

Perry is by no means one of the headliners of a Vols receiving corps that includes Preston Williams, Josh Malone, Josh Smith, Jeff George and others. But while all of those players are talented, the group as a whole has been wildly disappointing over the last two seasons thanks to the inability of former highly recruited players to run crisp routes and get off the ball consistently.

Because of that, head coach Butch Jones needs options at the position. Perry could have been one of those options, especially in the slot.

Can Jones and the Vols compensate? Absolutely.

Williams looked like a star downfield in the spring game, Malone should be healthy come September, and there's a talented group of receivers coming in this year.

But the last thing that Jones needs is the one unit that needs help to start losing possible contributors. 

Quick Outs

• Don't worry about the recent transfers of former Alabama defensive backs Maurice Smith and Shawn Burgess-Becker. Alabama's secondary is loaded, Anthony Averett is a speedy defensive back who can step in, the Tide has recruited well in the defensive backfield over the last couple of seasons and Minkah Fitzpatrick, Marlon Humphrey and Eddie Jackson are all returning. What once was a liability became a strength last year, and that should continue in 2016 despite a couple of transfers.
• One of Alabama head coach Nick Saban's favorite movies in the mid-1990s was Crimson Tide, according to Michael Casagrande of AL.com. That worked out well.
• Here's Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd squatting 255 pounds on one leg. Never skip leg day, folks:

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.