MARLER: Week 14 SEC Quarterback Rankings

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 week 14 SEC Quarterback rankings.

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.

1. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

Sellers takes over the top spot after finishing last week with an 85.1 percent completion percentage, four touchdowns and 360 yards of total offense. Sellers has been outstanding over the last five weeks with 17 total touchdowns to just three interceptions. More importantly he’s led

South Carolina to five straight wins which is the longest active win streak in the conference.

2. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss

Remember when you were a kid, and you’d shoot hoops in the driveway or back yard and you’d countdown from three to one before taking the final shot in an imaginary championship game? Then if you missed, you’d somehow add more time back on the clock and get another shot at being the hero?

Jaxson Dart lived that out on live television this past Saturday in Gainesville. Except in this non-hypothetical and very real game he followed up a “missed shot” with an interception. After getting another shot at being the hero, he followed that up with even more interceptions. Dart stays at two strictly because of the season resumè.

3. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

Another picture-perfect game out of Pavia. Didn’t have great accuracy, didn’t finish with over 200 yards passing, but finished with two total touchdowns, zero turnovers and over 200 yards of offense. Pavia is more consistent than rooster crowing, a clock ticking or my girlfriend saying., “I don’t know whatever you want” and not meaning it whenever I ask where she wants to go for dinner.

4. Carson Beck, Georgia

Carson Beck has been great over the last two weeks. He’s averaged over 60 percent completion percentage, over 300 yards passing and thrown for six touchdowns in the last two games. Most importantly he hasn’t thrown an interception over that span after throwing 12 in his previous six games. Beck, and the Dawgs, could be peaking at the right time.

5. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

Nussmeier looked to be back to his old ways which was a welcomed sight for LSU fans. He finished the Vandy game without an interception and threw just nine incompletions which tied the fewest in a game for him since Week 1 against USC.

6. Payton Thorne, Auburn

People will hate this pick because of what happened in the first few weeks of the season, but grow up and do some research. Thorne has thrown 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions over his last six games, and on the season, he now has 20 touchdowns through the air. That’s fifth best in the SEC. However, what’s more impressive is that he ranks Top 3 in quarterback passer rating and yards per attempt.

Auburn has won three of their last four, and in those four games he’s completing 75 percent of his passes and nearly 250 yards per game. He’s been fantastic. Time to move on from September. Thorne definitely has.

7. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M

Reed was great even though the Aggies came up short in Jordan-Hare. Since taking over as the primary signal caller for A&M, the Aggie offense has scored 38 points or more in three of their four games. Against Auburn he nearly threw for 300 yards and ended the game with over 360 yards of offense and three touchdowns. We are already talking a lot about how great the future SEC quarterbacks will be in this league with Nico, Lagway and LaNorris Sellers. Reed deserves to be in the middle of that conversation, as well.

8. Quinn Ewers, Texas

The fact that Quinn Ewers is going pro this season makes sense considering his backup. However, from a performance standpoint it seems like an absolutely horrible idea. Ewers continues to be very average and what I can only refer to as the highest rated game manager in recruiting history. Against Kentucky, Ewers was 20-for-31 for less than 200 yards and two scores. It is shocking to see the level of production for Ewers with the weapons around him and Steve Sarkisian as his play caller. He also currently ranks 15th in the SEC in PFF grades for starting quarterbacks.

9. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee

Tennessee played a really bad UTEP team, but it was good to see Nico get on the right track as the Vols push toward the playoffs. Nico finished the game with nearly 74 percent of his passes completed and over nine yards per attempt. Most impressive is that Nico hasn’t had a turnover in his last four games. The defense continues to carry this team, but if they want to make a run at a national title, Nico will need to be performing at the level of what many think his potential truly is.

10. Jalen Milroe, Alabama

Just an absolutely gross performance in Norman. With everything on the line, Milroe threw three interceptions. Two of them were arguably as bad as he’s thrown since his second start from a season ago against Texas. Alabama didn’t manage a touchdown. Just a pathetic showing all around.

11. Brady Cook, Missouri

Brady Cook had 268 yards passing and nearly 300 yards of total offense against Mississippi State in a game that looked like vintage 2023, 11-win Missouri. Cook was a point guard on offense, distributing the ball to all of his most dangerous weapons and watching this team rack up 475 yards of offense and nearly 40 points. What was most impressive was the efficiency and explosiveness that the offense and Cook had on display with 10.5 yards per play for the senior quarterback.

The Bottom 5

12. DJ Lagway, Florida
13. Taylen Green, Arkansas
14. Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma
15. Michael van Buren, Mississippi State
16. Brock Vandagriff, Kentucky