MARLER: Championship Week SEC quarterback rankings
12/03/2024
By Chris Marler
Brace yourselves. It’s that time again. It’s time for the worst rankings you’ll see all week.
It’s my post-rivalry week SEC quarterback rankings.
Once again, I’m not going to waste any time trying to explain the parameters or factors that go into the rankings. Not because I want to keep it mysterious or secretive, because at this point of the season I don’t know if I even know what they are anymore.
Regardless, here are this week’s rankings for the best SEC signal callers No.1 through No.16.
- LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
People thought I was crazy for saying Sellers deserved to be at the top of the quarterback rankings a month ago. All this kid has done is get better each week and be at his best when his team needed him most. Case in point against Clemson when, after struggling against a top fifteen team on the road, Sellers pulled off another game winning drive and found the endzone on 3rd and 11 to keep South Carolina’s playoff hopes alive.
Sellers will be a frontrunner for the Heisman trophy next season. Book it.
- Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Dart ended his season with a solid performance in the Egg Bowl with 220 yards of total offense and one touchdown and no interceptions. Dart was fantastic all year, minus the end of the Florida game. He led the SEC in almost every metric and passing statistic in the conference and broke several career records in Oxford.
- Carson Beck, Georgia
Carson Beck caught a ton of deserved flack in the middle of the season when he threw 12 interceptions in six games. He responded well by finishing the season with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions in the final three games of the season. That included a five-touchdown performance for nearly 300 yards against Georgia Tech. He also finished the season with more passing touchdowns than any other quarterback in the SEC.
- Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
We are officially back on the Garrett Nussmeier hype train following his gutsy performance in the Oklahoma game. Nuss left the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter. He then told Brian Kelly, “I’m f’ing throwing the football”, came back in the game, and proceeded to go 10-for-10 on his first 10 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
If he comes back next year, he is going to be dangerous.
- Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
Pavia closed the year on a blah note with a double-digit lead against Tennessee that turned into a double-digit loss. Pavia doesn’t do anything that necessarily wows you physically. He is transfer portal-era Connor Shaw–a game manager that was a fan favorite for everyone, not just Commodore fan(s).
- Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee
Nico finished the season with eight touchdowns and one interception over his last three games. Iamaleava was disappointing in his first year as a starter by some standards. However, the one thing that doesn’t show up in a box score or stat sheet is the thing that matters most. Nico Iamaleava led his team to the college football playoff in year one as a starter. The ceiling is still incredibly high.
- Quinn Ewers, Texas
Ewers was great against Texas A&M and finished the season Top 5 in the conference in passer rating and touchdown passes. He still needs to cut down on the turnovers, but when Ewers is on, he is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. It will be interesting to see how he looks in a rematch against Georgia in Atlanta.
- Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Jalen Milroe finished the season on a very frustrating note for a lot of Alabama fans. Alabama won four of their last five games, but none of them were because of his arm. In his final seven SEC games since the start of October, Milroe had five touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Milroe was great with his legs, but there’s no way around the fact that he regressed in year two as a starter. That being said, he’s still one of the most electric athletes in college football when steps on the field.
- DJ Lagway, Florida
Lagway didn’t do anything eye-popping against Florida State, but he deserves to be in the Top 10 in his first season in Gainesville. From a talent standpoint, he is easily in the Top 5 of this conference already. Lagway finished his final four games of his freshman season with six touchdowns and two interceptions. Most importantly he led the Gators to three consecutive wins and a seven-win season when no one thought they’d get to five before the season started.
The future is bright next year, and it’s not like we haven’t seen a Florida quarterback win a Heisman in his sophomore season before…
- Payton Thorne, Auburn
A tough end to a tough season for Payton Thorne, but I will maintain that Thorne had a much better year than people ever seemed to want to give him credit for. Thorne finished the season fifth in the conference in passing touchdowns with 21 and only three interceptions in his last seven games. Regardless, him getting away from Hugh Freeze will be the best thing that can happen for either party.
The Bottom 5
- Brady Cook, Missouri
- Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
- Taylen Green, Arkansas
- Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma
- Michael van Buren, Mississippi State
- Brock Vandagriff, Kentucky
