SEC QB Rankings, Week 6: Welcome (Back) To The Spencer Rattler Show?
It's been an interesting year in the SEC for a multitude of reasons as Georgia continues to look like the next dynasty team, while Alabama continues its fall from grace with some uncharacteristically close games like the one against USF and something of an upset loss by a quickly rising Texas Longhorns team.
Within this season for the conference, one of the biggest discussions has been how much less stacked the SEC is as a whole at the quarterback position. Still, some of the top of the crop have caught national attention with the ability to be drafted early.
Here's a look at where each SEC quarterback stands heading into Week 6:
1. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss.
Despite his ability to use his legs well on a consistent basis throughout his career, Dart has been up-and-down as a passer for the better part of that. He seems to be getting more in the swing of things now, though, as comes with development.
Dart has shown more decisiveness and accuracy heading into his second year with the Rebels, something head coach Lane Kiffin told me he saw clearly as time has gone on.
“He’s done a great job, had really good offseason,” Kiffin said after the win over Tulane. “I wouldn’t have guessed the numbers were going to look like they did today, but it happens. It’s football. Tulane is a really good team and made some plays and he lost (Tre Harris) early and we just kind of miscommunicated on some things and kind of stumbled out of a break on a pick but he made a great play on the touchdown to (Michael) Trigg.”
In the 55-49 upset of the Tigers, Dart was 26-of-39 passing for 389 yards with 4 touchdowns on an interception-free outing, also recording 1 rushing touchdown.
2. Jayden Daniels, LSU.
Touted as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate ahead of the season, Daniels has drawn a mixed bag of opinions since the season got underway. While some went as far as to blame Daniels for the some of the team's struggles early on, it's much easier to argue that Daniels gave the Tigers a chance in the tough games they've encountered.
While being able to use his legs in certain situations that helped the Sun Devils, one of the biggest questions about Daniels at Arizona State was as to whether or not he could hit pay dirt through the air. Daniels has made notable strides as a passer in Baton Rouge, transforming himself into a true dual-threat quarterback who has given defenses the blues.
In the 55-49 loss to Ole Miss, Daniels was 27-of-36 passing for 414 yards with 4 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing touchdown.
3. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina.
One of the things that came up quickly in my conversation with Rattler at last year's Manning Passing Academy event was the large difference in the offensive system he came from at Oklahoma and the one he was entering with Shane Beamer over in Columbia, South Carolina.
That was something Rattler indicated he believed would be beneficial to him, and there's no doubt he has found more of a rhythm now with a change of scenery.
While some of it has come down to better play needed out of the offensive line in some instances, Rattler has lacked consistency against some higher-level defenses while showing flashes of the same quarterback who was at one time projected to be a No. 1 overall pick. It's hard to build off of those, though, in games like the 31-17 loss to UNC in which Rattler was having to flee defenders constantly, sacked 9 times.
Rattler was 24-of-35 passing with 1 interception and 1 rushing touchdown in the 41-20 loss to Tennessee.
4. Brady Cook, Mizzou.
Several were calling for a quarterback change at Mizzou last season, but the Tigers have invested in Cook and given him time to develop. It's paid off as he's made some important improvements to his game that are paying dividends for the Tigers.
Cook, who projects as a quarterback with a little bit of Josh Allen to him (while there's much work to be done before he's able to hit that ceiling), has improved his accuracy, making better decisions than last season in a way that's caught attention with good field vision in addition to what he's able to make happen with his improvisation ability.
Cook finished out the 38-21 victory over Vanderbilt 33-of-41 passing for 395 yards with 4 touchdowns.
5. Carson Beck, Georgia.
There are some questions as to if Beck is just a cog in the machine and as to how much he truly makes UGA better in its own right, but it's been so far, so good for Beck in the offense.
And with the way it is constructed and the talent the Bulldogs have on the roster, Beck's job first and foremost should be to be a game manager in terms of finding the best way to get the ball to star tight end Brock Bowers.
That's something he's done quite well so far this season. Over the past three games, Beck has targeted Bowers 31 times, which has resulted in 332 yards and 3 touchdowns.
In the 27-20 victory over Auburn, Beck completed 23 of his 33 passing attempts for 313 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
6. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas.
There was some hype surrounding Jefferson ahead of the season after the improvement he had shown as a pure passer to couple with just how hard he is to tackle with his running ability and massive size at 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds.
Jefferson completed 9-of-17 passes for 132 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, his worst outing of the season, in the 34-22 loss to Texas A&M.
Despite what the stat line may imply here, some have argued that Jefferson has given the Razorbacks opportunities within an otherwise problemed offense that has, if anything, made him look worse than what he truly brings as quarterback in his own right.
His supporting cast done him little favors, but Jefferson has also shown issues pushing the ball far beyond the line of scrimmage, something that's going to have to change for things to get rolling.
7. Joe Milton, Tennessee.
Milton is about as good of a prospect from a raw tools perspective that one could ever ask for with a howitzer for an arm and a large frame. But his accuracy has faltered in times where he's facing a defense of high quality, something that's going to have to improve to match the physical gifts he brings to the table if he is to a legitimate NFL prospect.
Drop rate by receivers has been an issue that has affected Milton and the Vols offense as a whole, but his accuracy at all levels of the field and ball placement have proven inconsistent and on many occasions, troublesome.
Milton finished out the 41-20 win over South Carolina 21-of-32 passing for 239 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
8. Devin Leary, Kentucky.
Leary was a huge piece of the NC State offense, coming in clutch for team under Tim Beck several times. But the jump from there to Kentucky has been tough one, as Leary's highs and lows with the Wildcats to this point would suggest.
Some things Leary has got to work on as the team prepares for the back half off this season is his touchdown-to-interception ratio and going through his progressions faster.
He's found himself in some unnecessarily bad situations due to being late on his reads and has tossed 5 interceptions already. If he throws another pick in 2023, he'll exceed a career-high in an unfortunate category that he's already tied for the third time.
Leary finished out his latest outing, a 33-14 win over Florida, 9-of-19 passing for 69 yards with 1 touchdown pass.
9. Jalen Milroe, Alabama.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. With one of the shakiest Alabama teams that has been seen in recent history has also come with one of the weakest Crimson Tide quarterback rooms that's been presented over the same period of time.
Milroe was benched earlier in the season after a lackluster performance with 2 interceptions, but Alabama quickly learned its lesson there with the alternative options. He's got some development to do yet, as a quarterback with this amount of game reps would imply, but he's still the best option in the room.
Milroe gave the Bulldogs defense, led by two of the best in the SEC in linebackers Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson, plenty of problems, though. Milroe finished out that one 10-of-12 passing for 164 yards, using his legs to find the end zone twice.
10. Will Rogers, Mississippi State.
Let's get one thing straight -- Will Rogers is not a poor quarterback. He is also not a "pure Air Raid" quarterback, as those who label him as such tend to forget that he was originally recruited by Joe Moorhead's staff. Moorhead could hardly have run a more opposite system from the Air Raid.
But there is still no question that it seems like the game has almost seemed to speed up for the veteran in a new system. Granted, this adjustment is not an easy one to make for any quarterback who loses an entire coaching staff around him unexpectedly with one created by a coach, who, quite frankly looks to be in over his head and not entirely prepared to be thrust into a role this large so suddenly.
There's debate over just how much of this is on Rogers and how much of it comes down to coaching woes, but Rogers appears at most times to be out of rhythm and uncomfortable in the offense -- things that have trickled into decision-making errors and incompletions on what should be easy throws.
Rogers was 15-of-27 passing for 107 yards with 1 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
11. Max Johnson, Texas A&M.
In the absence of Connor Weigman, there was bound to be an adjustment for Johnson, and that showed itself in some of his second-half issues against Arkansas after he opened up with 3 scoring drives on Texas A&M's first 4 possessions in the first half.
Johnson was 17-of-28 passing for 210 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in the 34-22 win over the Razorbacks.
How he performs against Alabama will give a better idea of where he truly stands among SEC quarterbacks.
12. Graham Mertz, Florida.
Mertz has been named a "game manager" for the majority of his career, and outside of some standout moments at Wisconsin where he gave some hope that he could ascend beyond that, the title has proven fitting.
In the 33-14 loss to Kentucky, Mertz was 25-of-30 passing for 244 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
13. AJ Swann, Vanderbilt.
Swann has had some big-time throws this season that compare to some of the best quarterbacks in the nation, flashing some legitimate SEC potential with some of them. But he's been hindered by more misfires than notable passes, tying for the nation's lead with 7 interceptions.
Swann, in his last appearance, was 16-of-40 passing for 189 yards and 3 interceptions. Due to an elbow injury, he was unable to go for the latest game, which ended in a double-digit loss to Mizzou.
14. Payton Thorne/Robby Ashford, Auburn.
It takes quite a bit of thinking back to remember and era in which Auburn had one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC. The Tigers weren't able to make use of the talent Bo Nix clearly presented and have been in flux at the position since his departure.
The latest duo of Ashford and Thorne hasn't exactly gotten the job done. Thorne was 10-of-19 passing for 82 yards without a touchdown but with 1 interception, while Ashford was 1-of-1 passing for 6 yards.
