Breaking Down the Race for First-Team All-SEC QB
The race to become the SEC's first-team All-SEC quarterback this year has been the college football equivalent of a roller coaster.
First, it was Ole Miss' Chad Kelly jumping to the top of the pack. The junior college transfer threw nine touchdowns and only one pick through the first three games, went on the road to stun Alabama in Tuscaloosa and helped elevate Ole Miss to one of the nation's top teams.
Then Kelly struggled versus Vanderbilt, got blown out at Florida and the early-season shine had worn off before the leaves began to change color.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Next up: Florida's Will Grier.
After not starting the season opener, Grier became Florida's top option on the depth chart in Week 3, led a stunning two-touchdown comeback in the fourth quarter against Tennessee in Week 4, lit up Ole Miss a week later and tossed 10 touchdowns and only three picks in six games.
Then Grier was suspended for a year for violating the NCAA's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, and his magical redshirt freshman season came to a close.
On deck was Texas A&M's Kyle Allen.
After all, he had tossed 13 touchdown passes and just two interceptions heading into the then-undefeated showdown between the Aggies and Alabama two weeks ago. Three pick-sixes against the Crimson Tide and an awful stretch against Ole Miss that included incomplete passes in 20 of 22 attempts later, and Allen's hold on the award became coated with Crisco.
Through it all, Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott has just been hanging out, doing normal "Dak Prescott things" in Starkville.
The dual-threat senior for the Bulldogs has thrown for 2,048 yards and 14 touchdowns, threw his first pick of the season last week versus Kentucky, has rushed for 371 yards and scored seven more touchdowns on the ground.
In last week's game versus Kentucky, Prescott threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 117 and three more touchdowns and looked exactly like the dual-threat stud that led Mississippi State to the No. 1 ranking last season.
"The guys were giving me running lanes," Prescott said, according to Mississippi State's official site. "It was something I wanted to do. I wanted to take advantage of the lanes they were giving me. It was something I have to do going forward."
If the season ended today, Prescott should be your first-team All-SEC quarterback.
Does that mean that the roller coaster that is the quarterback position in the SEC won't send him shooting down the wrong track, as it has for virtually every other contender thus far?
No.
Alabama's Jake Coker appears to have won over the team and is becoming more confident with new younger receivers like Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart. LSU's Brandon Harris has broken the 200-yard mark in three straight games, and he has his team firmly entrenched in the College Football Playoff hunt. Arkansas' Brandon Allen has thrown for 13 touchdowns and has brought balance to the run-based Arkansas offense. Kelly could certainly jump back into the mix after a slight October slide.
But Prescott entered the season as the most known commodity in the conference, and all he has done is pick up right where he left off.
That should be enough to earn him the nod if he closes out his career in a similar fashion, even in a crowded field. In a year in which first-team All-SEC quarterbacks are dwindling faster than presidential candidates, Prescott should be a shoo-in.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.
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.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
