SEC QB Rankings Week 12: Two preseason All-SEC QBs benched

By Chris Marler

It was a busy week for movement up and down the rankings with two preseason All-SEC quarterbacks being benched for backups. Here are this week’s SEC Quarterback rankings. 

THE SAD SIX

16. Matt Zollers, Missouri
15. DJ Lagway, Florida
14. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
13. Ashton Daniels, Auburn
12. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
11. Blake Shapen, Mississippi State

TOP TEN

10. Cutter Boley, Kentucky 

Boley didn’t light up the stat sheet in yards this weekend, finishing with only 179. But, the most important numbers he was responsible for were 31 and 78.2. As in completing 78.2% of his passes and leading Kentucky to a 31 point win over Florida. 

9. John Mateer, Oklahoma 

Mateer has a ton of ability, but his inability to not turn the ball over has hampered him and the Sooners. He ranks 11th or worse in the SEC in QBR, passer rating and completion percentage. 

8. Taylen Green, Arkansas

Green is the most entertaining player in the conference. He still leads the SEC in total yards per game with 335.7. He hasn’t fixed his turnover issues from the first two years as a starter, but he’s electric with the ball in his hands and ranks second in the SEC in touchdowns with 25. 

7. Joey Aguilar, Tennessee

Aguilar ranks top two in the SEC in total yards, yards per attempt and passer rating. However, he also ranks top two in most interceptions thrown with eight, including five coming in Tennessee’s three losses. 

6. Arch Manning, Texas 

The Arch we heard about all offseason is finally showing in Austin. Arch doesn’t rank in the top five of the SEC in passer rating, QBR, passing yards per game or completion percentage, but he’s been one of the best QBs in the country over the last month of the season. 

He’s coming off a 25-for-33 (75.8%), 328 yard and three touchdown performance against a top ten team. It’s his second straight three touchdown and 300 yard game. He’s also only thrown one interception in his last four games.

5. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M

Reed’s completion percentage ranks second to last in the SEC at 62.3%. Other than that, there isn’t a thing he hasn’t excelled at. He’s fourth in the SEC in passer rating at 155.52 and total yards per game at 285.7. He’s also been fantastic in finding the endzone this year with 25 touchdowns which is tied for the second most in the conference. 

Most importantly, he’s 4-0 in road starts and has Texas A&M 9-0 for the first time since 1992. 

4. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss

Chambliss had an incredible Saturday going up against an FCS team. Chambliss finished 29-of-33 with 333 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s racked up 19 touchdowns to just two interceptions in three less games than almost every other SEC quarterback. The completion percentage needs work and ranks tenth in the conference at 64%, but his QBR continues to rank top ten nationally at 84.3. 

3. Gunner Stockton, Georgia 

Stockton has quietly become the most efficient quarterback in the SEC. He rarely turns the ball over, completes nearly 70% of his passes and accounts for 262 yards per game. He facilitates the offense better than almost anyone in America, which is why he leads the SEC and is third in all of FBS in QBR at 89.4. The 22 touchdowns to only two interceptions isn’t bad, either. 

2. Ty Simpson, Alabama 

Simpson ranks in the top five in almost every major passing category in the conference. He’s fifth in QBR (81.3), third in passer rating (159.46), and second in passing yards per game (274.4). Most importantly, he continues to win and is tied for the fewest interceptions in the conference with one all season. The 23-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio is the second best in the country. 

1. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt 

Pavia ranks in the top three of the SEC in QBR (86.1), total yards per game (305 ypg), completion percentage (70.0) and passer rating (166.76). And, his completion percentage and passer rating both lead the conference. He totaled 28 touchdowns to just five interceptions this season and is fresh off a 489-yard, four-touchdown, zero-turnover performance against one of the SEC’s top defenses in Auburn.