With respect to a handful of races that are still a bit too close to call, we generally know what the SEC’s 2026 quarterback class is going to look like later this fall. There are starters returning to championship-contending teams. There are guys coming back hoping for a do-over. There are promising young players getting their first opportunities to show what they’ve got.
So, let’s rank the SEC’s quarterbacks using what we saw last year and what we know heading into the summer months.
SEC quarterback rankings for 2026
Below, you’ll find a table with relevant passing stats from the 2025 season.
QBREPA/DBEPA/TOUCHYARDS/PASSTD/INTTWP RATEADOTADJ COMP %Jared Curtis––––––––AJ Hill23.0––7.01.05.7%8.567.9%KJ Jackson85.6––8.23.04.5%8.467.9%George MacIntyre44.1––7.70.00.0%9.877.8%Kamario Taylor82.3––8.25.00.9%13.169.0%Aaron Philo73.2––13.31.09.4%9.484.6%Kenny Minchey97.5––7.50.00.0%11.576.9%Austin Simmons63.6––9.90.85.7%11.569.9%Austin Mack82.5––7.12.00.0%4.583.3%Keelon Russell72.8––9.52.05.6%7.480.0%Marcel Reed77.90.280.118.42.14.7%9.172.8%Byrum Brown77.90.320.209.34.02.6%9.775.6%Trinidad Chambliss86.00.260.248.87.32.5%8.875.1%Gunner Stockton85.80.230.227.54.82.4%7.381.2%Arch Manning70.60.140.047.83.73.5%9.773.0%John Mateer65.60.13-0.127.31.34.1%8.371.4%LaNorris Sellers61.60.12-0.168.31.63.4%9.570.3%Sam Leavitt65.20.10-0.016.83.33.9%9.168.3%LEGENDQBR: Total QBR, from ESPNEPA/DB: Expected points added per dropback, from Game on PaperEPA/Touch: From CFB-GraphsTWP RATE: Turnover worthy play rate, tracked by PFFADOT: Average depth of target, tracked by PFFADJ COMP %: Adjusted completion percentage, tracked by PFF
Now, let’s get to the ranking.
16. Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt
Diego Pavia was fourth nationally in Total QBR and seventh in completion percentage. He was 15th in turnover-worthy play rate among QBs with at least 400 drop-backs (56 players). The floor was really high, given how much ball Pavia had played over the course of his career. Aside from the Tuscaloosa trip, Pavia just didn’t make a ton of critical errors. Vanderbilt will flip to the other end of the spectrum with a true freshman starter. Curtis, a longtime Georgia commit, will have to find his way and Vanderbilt will have to be patient with him. Curtis has all the tools to be successful, but he is a complete unknown who is bound to make rookie mistakes.
15. KJ Jackson/AJ Hill, Arkansas
Hill followed new coach Ryan Silverfield from Memphis after a redshirt season last fall. Jackson backed up Taylen Green at Arkansas and then stepped in for games against Texas and Missouri. Arkansas lost both of those games, but Jackson showed some promise during them. They’re in a good spot with Silverfield, who worked magic with Seth Henigan for years and then coaxed a career year out of Brendon Lewis.
14. Austin Simmons, Mizzou
The potential is still there for Simmons, but there are red flags. Ole Miss opened the season with Simmons as its starter; Trinidad Chambliss was on the bench. Clearly, things were happening in fall camp that led to that structure. But Simmons was a risk-taker who got repeatedly burned before the floor fell out from under him. As a first-time starter, he was still figuring out what he could and couldn’t get away with. Then he got injured and spent the rest of the season on the bench. Then he left Ole Miss and an offense that was notorious for giving quarterbacks easy answers.
13. George MacIntyre, Tennessee
A former 4-star quarterback who has a year’s head start on Faizon Brandon in the Josh Heupel playbook, MacIntyre seems like the safer option, if there is such a thing in this quarterback battle. Both players are inexperienced, both have high upside, and both will make mistakes.
12. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
Taylor did exactly what you’d expect an athletic, young quarterback to do when given a late-season opportunity to run the show. He tried to make it a show. Taylor, a 6-foot-4 freshman, averaged 13.1 air yards per pass attempt and gained more than 8 per throw. He didn’t put the ball in harm’s way and he surprised the Ole Miss defense with his legs in the Egg Bowl. Ball placement was shaky. The pieces are there for Mississippi State to have one of the more entertaining quarterbacks in the conference.
11. Aaron Philo, Florida
The ultimate “small sample size” guy. Philo backed up Haynes King for 2 seasons at Georgia Tech, then followed his offensive coordinator to Florida. I think that ultimately gives him the edge over Tramell Jones Jr. in the quarterback competition this offseason, but it will be interesting to see what Philo does with extended time. He stepped in for King in a 2024 win over NC State to throw for 265 yards and run for a touchdown. He started a game against Gardner-Webb last season where he threw for 373 yards and a score. Philo flashed in spots.
10. Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
Minchey spent 3 seasons at Notre Dame. In his first 2 years, he threw 3 total passes. In Year 3, he got an opportunity to compete with CJ Carr and Steve Angeli for the starting job. Angeli was knocked out of the competition before fall camp. Minchey ultimately lost the battle to Carr and once again played a limited role, but we talk about Carr as if he’s a Heisman hopeful and future first-round talent, so it’s probably fair to give Minchey some kudos for making that competition go on for as long as it did. Will Stein has produced some outstanding quarterbacks. I like the partnership here, even if Minchey doesn’t have Oregon-level talent at the skill positions.
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9. John Mateer, Oklahoma
There’s a clear gap here, jumping from the 10th spot to the ninth spot. Until now, most of the passers have been green. Now, we’re getting to the guys who actually played and started last season. Still, there’s a clearly defined tier that these next 2 fit into. You want to love them, but they make it hard. In his first season with Oklahoma, coming over from Washington State, Mateer started hot, broke his hand, and then wasn’t the same player once he returned. Critical mistakes as a passer nearly cost Oklahoma at home against LSU and then did cost Oklahoma at home in the first round of the CFP against Alabama. Lots to clean up.
8. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
South Carolina was supposed to make a Playoff push last season. Sellers was supposed to turn a promising 2024 campaign into a dominating 2025 season that would propel him into the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Instead, the offense completely collapsed, Sellers ran for his life every weekend, and South Carolina limped to a 4-8 record. Some of the issues weren’t Sellers’ fault — the offensive line was horrible — but the quarterback built like a fullback didn’t really help matters. He took too many unnecessary sacks. He threw too many picks. He missed too many throws he shouldn’t have. With more touch, Sellers has the tools to be the best quarterback in the conference, the kind of player who is just a nightmare to bring down.
7. Austin Mack/Keelon Russell, Alabama
Mack has been with Kalen DeBoer for 4 years now. He should be plenty prepared to run the offense, and with a 6-foot-6 frame and pro arm, he might be quite good. Russell is a former 5-star recruit who looked elite coming out of high school. Alabama doesn’t have a bad option in its quarterback competition.
6. Byrum Brown, Auburn
Brown had great numbers last year for South Florida. He threw for almost 3,200 yards and 28 touchdowns. He completed 66.3% of his throws and cut his interceptions from 11 in 2023 (last full season) to 7. He also added 1,008 yards and 14 scores on the ground. Though he changed zip codes, Brown has a ton of familiarity with coach Alex Golesh and the offense Auburn will be running. Mateer learned last season there were things he simply couldn’t get away with against SEC athletes. How long does it take Brown to learn the same?
5. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Reed made strides from 2024 to 2025. He upped his completion percentage (albeit modestly) and made a jump in his per-play efficiency. He still produced on the ground and still found a way to generate splash plays. When the sun was out, Reed was awesome. He was still prone to mistakes, and when they came, they usually snowballed. Reed had 6 picks in his last 4 games, and Texas A&M completely fell apart offensively in the last 2. Blame the wind for the 3-point showing against Miami, but Reed took 7 sacks that day. And he had just as many picks in Austin as he did against the Hurricanes. Another step forward from him will have the Aggies right back in SEC contention.
4. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
What do you want from your quarterback? Oklahoma asked Mateer to be everything, and he took an absolute pounding as a result. Georgia asked (needed? wanted?) Stockton to be merely a point guard. Nearly 40% of his pass attempts were thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage last season. Garrett Nussmeier was the only SEC quarterback (min. 200 drop-backs) with a shorter average depth of target than Stockton last fall. Joey Aguilar was the only one in that group with a lower turnover-worthy play rate. Will Georgia be able to operate the same way in 2026 without Zach Branch? That’s a different question for a different time; so far Stockton has done well at what he’s been asked to do.
3. Sam Leavitt, LSU
In 2024, Sam Leavitt ranked ninth nationally in Total QBR. In 2025, he dropped to 49th. Consider the foot injury that happened in late September and required season-ending surgery in October. Consider the loss of dynamic tailback Cam Skattebo to the NFL. Consider that Leavitt was no longer an unknown to Big 12 defenses. We can explain away a poor 2025 pretty easily. And while it’s pretty tough to upgrade from a Kenny Dillingham offense, Lane Kiffin offenses historically work out quite well for quarterbacks.
2. Arch Manning, Texas
Manning wasn’t great early, but he was great late. Per ESPN, he led all qualified quarterbacks in QBR after October. After barely running him throughout October and the early part of November, Texas let Manning use his legs to burn Texas A&M (53 yards) and Michigan (155 yards). The off-platform stuff will draw all the attention early in 2026 after Manning was just… weird… outside the pocket to begin 2025. When he’s on, he’s on. He absolutely torched Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas over the back half of the season.
1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
Chambliss is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He rarely makes mistakes. He can use his legs when he needs to. And though he doesn’t have prototypical size, he still looks to distribute before breaking a play off and doing his own thing. He was outstanding last season when throwing downfield, and showed an ability to just take games over in clutch spots.
Prediction Markets Who are the favorites to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy? Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi CJ Carr 13% Darian Mensah 10% Arch Manning 9% Trinidad Chambliss 7% Dante Moore 7% Jeremiah Smith 6% Julian Sayin 5% Gunner Stockton 5% Jayden Maiava 4% PredictPost-Spring QB ranking for all 16 SEC teams Saturday Down South.
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