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SEC Unfiltered
2026 SEC Football QUARTERBACK RANKINGS via Chris Phillips | Chewing Clock EXTRA
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Quarterback rankings entering the 2026 SEC football season, I'm ranking every single quarterback from 16 to 1. So without further ado, these are my selections as we start at number 16. I've got Vanderbilt's Jared Curtis. Now let me be clear. This list is not where I think they will finish. This is a quarterback rankings list of where I see them at right now. So some of these quarterbacks at the bottom, a lot of fan bases are gonna raise hell about where they're ranked. This is just right now I will release another list end of season for my postseason quarterback ranking. So when I tell you that me having Jared Curtis at number 16 is nothing personal, Vandy fans, I mean it, it's nothing personal, but the kid has never played a down of college football. What do I have to judge him off of? From the standpoint of I don't know if he's going to be a good college quarterback, I have no idea. I know he's a talented player, but I also know he's a true freshman who's going to try to navigate the sec. And true freshman signal callers don't typically fare well in this league. Do I think he finishes at number 16? Most likely not. Here's the other part of this. Is Jared Curtis even the starting quarterback at Bandy, I don't know that he is right. Blake Berlowitz is pushing and there is no clear decision made that Jared Curtis is QB1, although I think he will be. So that is the reason I have Jared Curtis at number 16. I fully expect to him to finish higher than number 16 and number 15. Let's stay in the state of Tennessee. Over in Knoxville I've got Tennessee's Faison Brandon or George McIntyre. Now I could have listed for 16 as well Jared Curtis or Blake Berlowitz. Although I feel confident Curtis is a starter, I don't know who Josh E. Is going with. I really don't. I know most are predicting that it's going to be Faison Brannon and I understand why. If it's still a tie at this point, if it's a tie in fall camp, logic would tell you go with the guy who's more talented again. And I know Tennessee fans see this list and they raise hell because last year I had Joey Aguilar 16, that was my bad. But this year if I'm just ranking off pure talent, Faison Brandon is much higher on this list. But it's either Faison Brandon, who's never played a down or George McIntyre who's played barely at all to a point to where he's done nothing of significance in college football. 15 is the rightful place right now for either one of these quarterbacks. I mean, really, you could put a 15, a 15B for Tennessee and Vanderbilt's quarterback situations because as much as y' all hate each other, y' all are in the same spot when it comes to under center, number 14. I got Arkansas's K.J. jackson. Now I have K.J. jackson this low. What kills me about this is I'm excited about K.J. jackson. I, I think K.J. jackson is a very capable player. I saw him in Austin against Texas and I thought he did some nice things, right? Dual threat guy can beat you with his legs. I, I, I thought he had some nice touch on the ball in that game, made some nice throws. I would be lying to you if I told you or I didn't tell you that I would be lying to you if I told you this didn't have something to do with what's around him as well. I, I'll just be totally honest with you. I don't think his team is very good. I don't think his proper weapons is very good. Therefore I don't think K.J. jackson, he's, he's a guy it is much harder for me to buy in on and have a lot of optimism about. But I do think there are some things. I think he's going to have some wow moments this season. But I got K.J. jackson at 14, number 13. This is a guy that has no shortage of weapons. And again, I do have him down this low because he's just unproven. But Aaron Philo at Florida and heck, it may be Tramell Jones Jr. In Gainesville. This is another one of the big quarterback battles that's going to be going on during the fall. But I do think more than likely it is the Georgia Tech transfer in Philo. I think Buster Faulkner bringing him over, I do think that gives him the leg up when it comes to the quarterback competition in Gainesville. Philos played a little bit here and there, not a lot, nothing really, really significant. But I think under your OC from Georgia Tech, you follow him over guys, the weapons he's got at his disposal, I mean it's an embarrassment of riches when you talk about Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown and Eric Singleton and Jaden Ball to hand the ball off to and a, a big physical offensive line. I mean it's a great situation to be walking into as a first time starting quarterback at number 12. I've got Kenny Minchi and I've already seen it. I've already heard it. The pushback from Kentucky fans. I understand Kenny Minchie is a guy that was highly, highly praised when he was in South Bend and a guy that thought many or many that thought that covered Notre Dame. They thought he was a guy who could win this quarterback battle and win this job. We just haven't seen anything. All the hype and the hoopla and the practice reports are great, but we haven't seen it actually play out on the field. Therefore, I have him at 12. I. I just want to see it. I think under Will Stein he could put up some big numbers. I do, but I just got to see it. Number 11, I got Alabama's Keylon Russell. This is another one. Listen, I'm high on Keelan Russell. I think that Ryan Grubb and Caitlin aboard will have the quarterback situation figured out. Notice I did put Key Lime Russell. I don't think Austin Mack wins this job. I think this is Keylon Russell's football team. I think Kelon Russell does things that nobody else at the quarterback position in Tuscaloosa can do. So I do think KEON Russell is QB1 right out of the gate and I do not think he will let go of that position. That being said, young player, young player has had a great spring game. He ain't done much else than that. I mean, when they went to QB3 last year or QB when whoever it was, it was QB3, I think it was Austin Mack. It wasn't Keon Russell. So. So really not any game experience. But I do think Kelon Russell's a guy I'd be shocked if he did not finish higher on this list. I just trust grubbing DeBoer to get the quarterback position figured out. They got to find a running game to compliment him. Ryan Coleman Williams I think is going to return to form. There is just no way he has that bad of a season as he had last year. Lots here, Brooks being back as well as big. A lot of questions on offense, but I think Kelon Russell, I think could be a really special player for the Crimson tide. At number 10, I've got Camario Taylor. This is one of the most exciting players in the sec, guys, you know, I don't want to overreact to one play, but that run that he had against Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, I was there in person and watched that. This dude does some magical things in the pocket, man. And when he gets outside of the pocket, watch out. I mean, he is a house call waiting to happen every time he leaves the pocket. Right. I think under Jeff Leby, who's an offensive mastermind, if you will, that's essentially his calling card. Having Fluff both will at running back, having Anthony Edwards on the outside. This could be a really fun offense in Starkville. And again, it starts under Cinema Camario Taylor now again lots to prove. You can't build a resume off one play. But he did some really nice things against Pete Golding's defense end of season last year that I think could and in the bowl game as well against Wake Forest. Thankfully, he's healthy. I know we're. There was a scare in that game when he went down. He is a guy I think that can make one of the biggest leaps in the SEC and could be one of the most exciting players in this conference. I love what he brings from an athleticism standpoint. Really, really fun player to watch. I, I think he is going to rise meteorically up this list. Number nine, I've got Austin Simmons over at Mizzou. Austin Simmons, a guy I was extremely high on last year. Extremely high on him from the standpoint of I thought he was going to be Lane Kiffin's next great quarterback, next great signal caller. Probably leave the SEC in passing all conference type of dude. The injury happened and Trinidad shambless happened, you know. And I, I know that Austin Simmons was not very consistent early through five interceptions. I believe in the first three games I believe it was. He wasn't good early. But you know, I, I go back to two years ago and what he did against Georgia and that one drive he had and you can see it, you know, I think there's a lot of potential with Austin Simmons, you know, what is he able to do under Chip Lindsay, the new OC there at Missouri? A lot of questions from Missouri Tigers. He does have a great running game to accompany him. He's got his good buddy Caden Lee on the outside as well, who also comes over from Ole Miss. There's a reason I have Austin Simmons near the middle. I just. There's a little more uncertainty than say, going into last year. Right? There's just a little more uncertainty with what Austin Simmons brings to the table. Can he be more consistent and can he live up to the billing that so many of us set out for him this time last year? That is my big question. And number eight, I've got Auburn's Byron Brown, dynamic player. Alex Golish at SEC media said he thinks he's one of the best Quarterbacks in the country. How does it transition from South Florida to the sec? That, that, that is the number one question. Because I mean, you look at his numbers, you look at what he did last year, the numbers speak for themselves. I think 45 total touchdowns, I mean he was electric for South Florida last year and he's got all of his buddies from South Florida coming over as well. So how does a largely portal built South Florida built offense transition to the sec? That's obviously going to dictate a lot of what his performance is. Dynamic player, exciting player. That typical dual threat guy got a great build on him as well. Like he, he is built for this. And I'm not worried about the throwing motion stuff. I just, you know, how does it transition? Can he do it at the highest level? That's the big question. It's the only thing we have left. I think Byron Brown will be a really, really solid quarterback in this league. There's just some other guys ahead of him that I have ranked ahead of him that are more proven. They've actually done it at the SEC level. On that note, number seven, I got Oklahoma's John Matier. I've gotten a lot of pushback from OU fans. Why is John Matier so low? Let me make it very clear. I am high on John Matier. I, I think the top seven, as I look at it now, the top seven of my list are in a different category. I think there's seven and then a gap and then you go eight and the rest and then you probably stop. It's probably 8 through 11 or maybe 8 through 12 and then 13 through 16 are in a different tier as well. By the time I get to 7, this is where I'm like, okay, proven, at least somewhat proven. Would be really surprised if they had bad seasons or especially if they had subpar seasons last year. I'd be really surprised if they followed it up with another subpar season. Put John Matier in that category. And I'm not saying John Mateer had a bad season by any means. The thumb injury was a big deal. Obviously changed him and it changed their offense. They didn't eclipse over 400 yards of offense post thumb surgery that he had in late September. Right. He was a different player. The decision making has to improve. He's a dynamic player. He's very Johnny Manziel esque in my opinion. Where he wants to hit the home run, he wants to make the big play, he seeks it out. He. And a lot of times he does make that big play. But sometimes he forces the issue and makes a mistake when he could just hit a single. Like you don't always have to hit a home run. Sometimes it's okay to just hit a single, hit a double. Doubles, hey, doubles will get you around the bases. You will score when you hit doubles consistently. But at times, as we saw, heck, I was at that Texas game, that Red River Shootout, in person. There were some boneheaded decisions. He made some boneheaded throws and some boneheaded plays and it cost Oklahoma a chance to win that football game. So. And he did that down the stretch. 11 interceptions to his credit. He's got to be better. He knows he's got to be better. I am excited to see my hope and my prayer is we get a healthy John Matier from game one to the very end. I want to see the very best of John Matier and see what he can do in front of what I think is going to be the best offensive line they've had under Brent Benables at this point. I think the rushing attack, while they don't have a guy, I think at running back that is probably a thousand yard rusher. Do they have someone that can take some of the pressure off John Mateer and take some of the bulk of the carries, if you will, and not be well, the running game is all just John Matier. Do they have someone like that? And I think at wide receiver they've got some nice pieces that are really underrated. Parker Livingston, the Virginia Tech transfer, they rebooted the tight end position. I think John Matier is getting wildly slept on. He might be the most underrated quarterback in my opinion. Going into kickoff, everybody around this time was so high on this kid. Heisman Trophy candidate, Heisman Trophy finalist. He could be in New York and now It's a complete 180. Nobody's even talking about this kid. I think John Matier is prime for a big time year. Just got to stay healthy for the Sooners. Number six. I've got Sam Levitt at lsu and admittedly, guys, as I look at this list, I, I could very well make a case that I should have John Mater ahead of Sam Levitt. I think the one thing I give Sam Levitt and I can't even say that I was going to say let a team to a college football playoff. A college football playoff, which John Matiere just did that on a broke thumb. So this might be one. If I could make any one switch on this list, I would flip flop six and seven. But I'm just going to Ride with it. Sam Levitt, lsu, Number six for me, did really, really nice things at Arizona State. I honestly think, guys, he gets the bump because he's got Lane Kiffin calling the shots. And I just trust Lane Kiffin to get the most out of a quarterback. I do. I really, really do that. There are question marks. Sure. You know, he should be 100 coming back from the injury. You know, I, I, I can't get the game out of my head. That was Sam Lovett and Starkville a season ago. But, man, I, I think having Lane Kiffin lead the offensive attack, Charlie Weiss Jr. Obviously be in his ear. I think we're probably going to see the best version of Sam Levitt. So give me Sam Levitt at 6. Certainly it is one that is debatable. I will even admit at number five, I've got Lenora Sellers, Lenoris Sellers from South Carolina. Even I guys was surprised how high I listed Lenora Sellers. Here's what it comes down to. Did Lenora Sellers have a bad year last year? Yes. Did the entire offensive a bad year? Yes. Could they block anyone? No. Are they very good at wide receiver? Not really. They have Nick harbor and that's about it. But I still look at it. Lenora Sellers can do things that nobody else in this league can do. Flat out. Lenora Sellers can take over a ball game unlike anyone else in this league can do. We saw it in 2024. I refuse to believe that's all just going to the wayside. He still has that ability, and it's mostly coming from a scrambling ability. Although I saw him in Como last year do everything he could to will South Carolina to win. They fell short, but that was through the passing game. Some of these throws he made were crazy. He put the team on his back at times. Doing it all by himself, essentially. So I understand the struggles he had last year. I also think Mike Shula did him a disservice and made him change up his game from a standpoint of doing things that just don't fit his game. So I think he's going to get more out of the pocket this year. Use his legs. I think Shane Beamer and Kendall Brows, I think, true to what he said at SEC media days, I think you're going to see Lenora Sellers take off and run a lot more. A lot more. Design runs again. This is a guy, he's got to be better than he was last year. I totally get it. But he can take over a ball game unlike anybody we have seen. He does things you can't coach. So for me, that makes Lenora Sellers a top five quarterback in this league. And number four, I got Marcel Reed from Texas A and M. I get it, man. Marcel Reed's got to be better against the better competition. Shocker. And this comes as a shock to everyone. Everybody struggles against better competition for the most part. When you play better competition, typically your numbers come down. It is what it is. It's a big prove it year for Marcel Reed needs to take the next step for sure. But the floor's pretty high, man. I mean, you can do a lot worse than Marcel Reed. A lot worse. A lot worse than Marcel Reed needs to play his best football in the biggest moments, like I said. But I could argue what he did in Baton Rouge, what he did in South Bend, Indiana. There were other moments last year where he proved himself as one of the top signal callers in the conference. Right. Should be in a great position to do so yet again. Although he has a first time play caller that is calling the shot. So I, I'm very curious to see how much if it all does Marcel Reed's game change with that fact in mind. But you know, I know it's very popular. A M takes a lot of criticism from people and that certainly Marcel Reed falls under that. But if you're honest with yourself, Marcel Reed is one of the top quarterbacks in this conference. I, I feel very, very confident in saying that. I think there's a good shot he guides them back to the college football playoff. Number three. I've got Gunner Stockton at Georgia. I know I called John Matiers the most underrated quarterback. Gunner Stockton falls right in that category as well because I still think Gunner Stockton is underrated for what he does at Georgia. Now listen, I understand he's on a great team. I understand Georgia essentially led the country. I know they led the conference. I think they led college football. Number of passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage. I get it. But there's not a tougher quarterback in the country. There's not a better leader at the quarterback position in the country. There is only one Gunner Stockton. And there are few guys. And if I gotta go win a football game, there are few guys. I'm taking over Gunner Stockton to go do that for me. I think he's wildly underrated, gets wildly disrespected because he doesn't have the flash and pizzazz of a guy that we're about to talk about from Texas. But that's how Kirby Smart would have it. As he said a couple years ago. We're not here to take pictures. That is Gunnar Stockton's mentality. He's tough, hard nosed, does exactly what Mike Bobo and company asked him to do. He takes care of the football. He had a 5 to 1 touchdown interception ratio last year and I think he could be even better this year. Guys, to a point. To where? If you're looking for a dark horse Heisman Trophy play, I think Gunner Stockton's a great pick. Number two, I got Arch Manning from Texas. Now some women say this is too high. I am a big believer that Arch Manning is going to take a massive leap forward in the 2026 season. You look at the end of last season, how he finished a lot of momentum. He was really, really special down the stretch, capping it off in that bowl game against Michigan, obviously utilizing his legs and had a big performance on the ground. I think we have to recognize two things. Number one, the hype going into last season for Arch Manning was outrageous. It was kind of like the hype around LSU going this season. We're being totally honest, just unable to meet it right. Like. But for Arch Manning specifically, staying focused on the topic at hand here, the hype was absurd for a guy who had never been QB1 who was not that guy yet. Number two, the struggles last year were not even remotely all on Arch Manning. You know, I, I saw a lot of Texas games last year. I was at game one against Ohio State. The offensive line got eaten alive, ironically enough. I was also at the game against Florida in the swamp. Same deal. I was at the game against Oklahoma. That was where you kind of started to see Arch Manning turn a little bit, you know, didn't have some crazy, you know, all, all world performance, but did what his football team needed him to do to win and made some great plays in that game. Don't get me wrong, but Texas's lack of running game and inability to protect him was the real issue. I think Arch Manning's got all the talent in the world. I do think it's a bit of a prove it year for Arch Manning. I think, I mean, don't get me wrong, there's hype and there's expectations, there's excitement, but not nearly the level it feels like of last year. I think the hype and the hoopla not being so insane could maybe help him out a little bit also. It helps him out. They added Cam Coleman out of the portal. Ryan Wing goes back, Relique Brown, Hollywood Smothers. I mean they, they added everybody you could on the offensive side to get the offense the level it needs to be and make Arch Manning's life easier. Because, listen, Steve Sarkeesian, you talk about a coach who's going to be judged off of how his quarterback performs. That is Sark. He will be judged. I don't want to say solely, but a large way that Texas fans will judge Sark is, what did you do with Arch Manning? And he didn't go win a national title with Arch Manning. It was a failure, flat out. So I do think Arch has the ability to be an all American kind of player. I. I'm. I'm not even saying New York because who knows? With the Heisman, it's really, really tough. But he, he has the ability to be in that conversation. And I think he will take a step forward and be a much better player than he was a season ago. I think he will have more help than he had a season ago. Number one, guys, I got Trinidad Chambers from Ole Miss. He's the best player in the conference. I mean, flat out, the guy is a. He just makes plays, man. There's those guys who have a knack and they love the moment, right? They. They don't look around and say, hey, who's getting the ball? In the biggest moments, they say, I want the ball. I want the ball. I'm going to be that guy that's tr. That Chambliss. Every time it helps him that he's got his Robin to his Batman and Kawan Lacy doesn't hurt. And we'll see what Chambers can do. Post Lane Kiffin. Post Charlie Weiss, Jr. Post losing 3,000 yards receiving off his offense, but I have that much faith and trust in Trinidad Chambliss. That dude, I just. He's answered the call every single time. I fully expect him to do the same yet again this season. So those are my quarterback rankings, preseason quarterback rankings ahead of the 2026 SEC football season. Guys would love to hear your thoughts. Do you agree with me? Do you disagree? How would you power rank the quarterbacks of the SEC entering kickoff?