The first big Saturday of the season has come and gone. There were several marquee matchups that saw some SEC quarterbacks rise to the occasion and others fall flat on their face(mask). Looking at you John Mateer. Here are our weekly SEC quarterback rankings.
Bottom 6
16. Whoever for Arkansas
11. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
Tier 2 QB 1s
This isn’t where Reed will end the season, but these are based on on-field performance. He ranks 9th in completion percentage (65.5), 15th in yards per attempt (7.2), 8th in passer rating (152.3), and 13th in passing yards per game.
It’s amazing how good Russell can be when the offensive game plan is catered to him and not throwing him into the deep end during his first SEC road start. It’s even more amazing how good he can look when the run game is actually effective and not averaging 0.3 yards per rush like it did in the first half against Kentucky.
Philo hasn’t played anyone yet, but that doesn’t mean he should be even higher on this list to be honest. Philo is second in the conference in completion percentage at 76.2% and yards per attempt at 12.3. This weekend he’ll face an actual defense, and he’ll have to do it away from home when the Gators travel to Auburn. Still, it’s been a tremendous start for the Georgia Tech transfer.
I have no clue how QBR is calculated. It’s somewhat like the GPA numbers that Gen Z kids brag about nowadays. I have no idea how you can have a 6.4 GPA on a scale of 0-4.0, but sure, here we are. So, while I don’t know how to mathematically find a QBR, I do know that it’s an important quarterback metric and Brandon currently has the highest of any SEC quarterback and the sixth-highest in the entire country (90.4).
The three interceptions were bad, but through two games Leavitt is still second in the SEC in passing yards (287) and total yards per game (354.5). This Saturday versus Ole Miss will be a massive test.
Top 5
It’s time to give Simmons his flowers. He’s third in the conference in completion percentage (75%) and second in QBR (89.7). He’s also been really good at protecting the football and through two games has seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Manning was fantastic in the fourth quarter against Ohio State. The numbers should only improve, especially if the drops from his receivers do.
Stockton is the least sexy player in the league and maybe the country, and it has nothing to do with his hairline or 50-year-old F-150. Stockton just puts his head down and goes to work. He currently leads the SEC in completion percentage at 87.5% and has twice as many touchdowns (8) as incompletions (4) on the season. That’s absurd no matter who you play.
2. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
Taylor leads the SEC in passing yards (290.5) and total yards per game (363.0). It’s not just the yardage that tells the story with Taylor this year and the massive step forward he’s taken. He’s completing nearly 68% of his passes, and has taken just one sack in two games this season. Compare that to the six he took in his two starts a season ago, and it’s clear he’s seeing the field much better this season.
1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
It’s Chambliss’ spot to lose, and going 23 for 26 and two touchdowns certainly wasn’t going to do that this past Saturday.
