The SEC's Most Intriguing 2016 Quarterback Battle
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t quite understand it either.
When the NFL draft is held next week in Chicago, the Southeastern Conference is expected to have high-profile picks at nearly every position but the one that gets talked about the most: quarterback.
Although Peyton Manning just won his final Super Bowl and Cam Newton is the reigning league MVP, former Florida quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett of North Carolina State and Jeff Driskel of Louisiana Tech could conceivably be taken before or around the same time as Arkansas’ Brandon Allen and Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
“Good question,” Kiper said Tuesday about the conference’s perceived decline of top-level players at the position before noting that Alabama won the national championship with a Florida State transfer, Jake Coker. “A lot of factors go into it, but some of them were there and left.”
It’s with that backdrop that various quarterback competitions have been held all around the league this spring—some more intriguing than others. As for which one tops that list, the answer stands out by using the process of elimination.
For the most part, the conference’s starting quarterbacks can be split into four groups:
1. Returning starters (5)
They’re listed with last season’s passer efficiency rating (and national rank):
- Chad Kelly, Ole Miss, 155.9 (13)
- Brandon Harris, LSU, 130.6 (63)
- Josh Dobbs, Tennessee, 127.0 (70)
- Drew Lock, Missouri, 90.5 (113)
- Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt, 100.6 (NR)
2. Won jobs during the spring (3)
None of these should be considered surprising.
"Trevor Knight will be our starter," Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin said in a release the Monday following the Maroon & White Game. "His on-field performance this spring along with his leadership earned him the starting job."
Despite having been on campus just three months, the Oklahoma graduate transfer completed 25 of 36 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, and also ran in a touchdown. More importantly he looked the part and showed poise.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops announced immediately after the spring game that sophomore Drew Barker had won the Wildcats’ starting job. While only playing in the first half, he completed 12 of 18 passes for 156 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
"The last week of spring...I feel like Drew was starting to pull away," Stoops said during the postgame press conference. “That's the nice thing to see about Drew is I thought he was very, very consistent this spring and really this whole offseason.”
At Arkansas, the only SEC team still holding spring workouts, Austin Allen has already been named the replacement for his older brother, Brandon, who was a three-year starter. The competition is over.
3. The Saban coaching tree (4)
Between Saban and his three former coordinators who are now head coaches in the SEC—Florida’s Jim McElwain, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and South Carolina’s Will Muschamp—no one has named a starting quarterback.
At Florida, Luke Del Rio appears to have a clear lead over Austin Appleby and true freshman Feleipe Franks. He completed 10 of 11 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns in the Blue and Orange Debut.
It’s probably only a matter of time before early enrollee Jacob Eason takes over at Georgia, especially after his dazzling performance in the spring game. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 244 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions.
South Carolina’s spring was disastrous at the quarterback position. Perry Orth suffered a broken collarbone, and Lorenzo Nunez was sidelined by a knee injury, helping lead to early enrollee Brandon McIlwain attempting the most passes in the Garnet and Black Game ahead of Connor Mitch and Michael Scarnecchia.
With prospect Jake Bentley arriving early in the fall, the Gamecocks have more of a logjam than a competition, and considering the lack of offensive talent that Muschamp inherited, well, let’s just say the winner will be sufficiently challenged.
Finally, Alabama doesn’t appear close to naming a starting quarterback and last year didn’t do so until after playing three games in the regular season. There’s no intrigue when there’s no decision looming, and Crimson Tide fans have learned over the past two seasons that the player closest to being the incumbent is the one who has to be beat.
This year that’s Cooper Bateman.
Nevertheless, none of these quarterback competitions will be resolved before the fall.
4. Wanted: Quarterbacks who can run (2)
A lot of experts thought heading into the spring that the Mississippi State starting job was Nick Fitzgerald’s to lose against Damian Williams, Nick Tiano and Elijah Staley. Yet, he hasn’t won the job, and two interceptions during the Bulldogs’ spring game didn’t help.
“I really don’t know if anyone was [standing out],” MSU head coach Dan Mullen said during his press conference. “I saw everyone make different plays and guys performed at a different level on different days. Some would do great on one day and be kind of average the next day, and someone else will stand out the next day. They were all pretty even coming out of spring.”
Regardless, no one is expecting another Prescott this season.
Which leaves Auburn, where the spring game raised more questions than answers about the quarterback competition—which made for a good headline.
Auburn’s entire philosophy and approach is based on tempo and execution of one player in particular: the quarterback. As everyone learned last year, when he struggles, everything else can fall apart.
You could ask numerous Auburn fans what they think head coach Gus Malzahn should do at quarterback this season and receive just as many different answers.
Feeding the opinions are observations that senior Jeremy Johnson appears to have regained his confidence. Sophomore Sean White is healthy again. Junior-college transfer John Franklin III is a former Florida State player looking for a chance.
During Auburn’s final spring scrimmage, the three rotated.
- Johnson made 6 of 13 throws for 35 yards and a touchdown.
- White completed 8 of 14 passes for 125 yards.
- Franklin hit 7 of 11 attempts for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Afterward, Malzahn said no one should put too much stock into the numbers, reminding everyone of Cam Newton's only A-Day performance in 2010: 3 of 8 passing.
He could have also pointed out that last year, Johnson completed 14 of 22 attempts for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
However, it was noteworthy that none of the three quarterbacks ran for any positive rushing yards, something that's been a staple of Malzahn's best offenses at Auburn as both a head coach and offensive coordinator.
- Johnson: Three carries for minus-two yards.
- Franklin: Three carries for no gain.
- White: Four carries for minus-12 yards.
Also, none of the quarterbacks were able to convert a third-down opportunity in 14 chances during the first half, and for the game, they combined to go 1-of-22.
| Year | Yards | Record |
| 2009 | -116 | 8-5 |
| 2010 | 1,541 | 14-0 |
| 2011 | 308 | 8-5 |
| 2013 | 1,115 | 12-2 |
| 2014 | 791 | 8-5 |
| 2015 | 172 | 7-6 |
Granted, it’s spring and the defense played well. But this was with what Malzahn called “vanilla” play-calling.
Consequently, this quarterback competition is by far the SEC’s most intriguing, especially when one considers what could potentially be at stake, the rumblings that the coaching staff may be on the hot seat with another subpar season and Auburn’s schedule.
Three of the first four games are against Clemson, Texas A&M and LSU.
Granted, all three games are at home, but it doesn’t take much imagination to envision a 1-3 start and Auburn out of the SEC West chase before the end of September if a quarterback doesn’t step forward and win the job outright.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
