We’re firmly in the middle of “talking season” when it comes to SEC football.
This is the time of year when every social media post is met with “y’all are sleeping on…” or “____ is trash!” and so on.
So let’s feed into that hype by ranking every SEC starting QB in 2025. Based on fan and media hype, is each QB overrated, properly rated or underrated? Let’s dive into it, shall we?
Overrated
These are the quarterbacks who are getting a little too much hype heading into the 2025 season:
Arch Manning, Texas
I’m not saying Manning won’t be great at Texas. But to enter his first year as the Longhorns’ full-time starter as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy (+700 odds at DraftKings) is a bit much. He will likely be a top-half SEC QB this fall, but let’s give him a year to develop into the best version of himself, shall we?
Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
I’ll be honest — I just don’t see it from Reed as a passer. As a runner, he’s solid. But with Texas A&M‘s receiving corps made up of NC State transfer KC Concepcion and some question marks, Reed is going to have to take a major step forward throwing the ball. I just don’t see it this year. Maybe in 2026.
DJ Lagway, Florida
I know I’m going to take some heat for putting Lagway here. The guy has every skill you’d want in a QB. But I’m concerned about his shoulder. Not going through spring practices isn’t a good sign. He missed time with a different injury last year. He had a 12-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Can we let him show he’s a Heisman Trophy contender first before we buy him a ticket to New York City?
Zach Calzada, Kentucky
Look, I’m not trying to be mean here. I’m sure Calzada is a good guy. But he’s had 2 chances to hold down an SEC starting job and ended up at Incarnate Word the last 2 years instead. I’ll go on the record and say Calzada isn’t the guy to fix Kentucky‘s offensive woes.
Properly Rated
The national narratives around these players is about where it should be:
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
Sellers has a cannon for an arm and he’s perhaps the best runner at the QB position in the entire SEC. There are some question marks in the South Carolina backfield and at the receiver position. Can he overcome those? That’ll be the difference between a potential Heisman season and a merely really good season.
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
Nussmeier is widely seen as the best pure passer in the SEC. That’s true, but he still has room to improve. If he can take a step forward this year, he’ll be in contention to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
The guy is tough as nails and will give everything he has for his team. We found that out last year. He was massively underrated heading into the 2024 season, but Pavia and the Commodores aren’t going to sneak up on anyone in 2025. He’s properly rated.
Beau Pribula, Mizzou
Most folks see Pribula as a big question mark at Mizzou. They acknowledge his upside as a passer and his potential impact as a runner, but there simply isn’t too much data on him just yet. Most takes around Pribula that I’ve seen have him as a high-upside question mark. That’s fitting.
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Austin Simmons, Ole Miss
Simmons has less Heisman hype than a guy like Arch Manning. He also has less playing experience than Manning. He does have a really impressive showing against Georgia on his résumé, though. All things considered, the level of hype around Simmons entering 2025 seems to be about where it should be.
Joey Aguilar, Tennessee
Concerns about Aguilar’s tendency to throw interceptions is warranted. Concerns about his ability to learn Josh Heupel‘s offensive system without the benefit of spring practices? Equally valid. There’s talent there, and the Vols made the best of a bad situation once Nico Iamaleava bolted for UCLA, but the narrative around Aguilar’s abilities is fair.
Underrated
These guys aren’t necessarily flying under the radar (which is next to impossible to do in the SEC), but they’re not getting enough preseason love:
Jackson Arnold, Auburn
Last year was an abject disaster for Arnold at Oklahoma. However, I think we’ve soured on him too quickly. He was working with a skeleton crew at the receiver position due to injuries. The offensive line was constantly being shuffled around. This year at Auburn, he’ll get to throw to Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. That’s a major upgrade. I’m not saying Arnold will be a Heisman contender, but he should at least be significantly better than he was in 2024.
John Mateer, Oklahoma
I know he got a lot of hype as a transfer this year. But I don’t think it was enough. Mateer was awesome at Washington State last year. Now he heads to Oklahoma, where he’ll presumably have a healthier receiving corps than Jackson Arnold had last year. I don’t think he’ll have quite as much impact as a runner as he had last year, but he’s still capable with his legs. He has his old Wazzu OC Ben Arbuckle joining him in Norman. It’s all setting up nicely for Mateer this fall.
Taylen Green, Arkansas
Green had a pretty solid season last year, but doesn’t get enough hype. I’m bullish on him heading into Year 2 under Bobby Petrino’s tutelage. The weapons around him have taken a step back, certainly, but I think Green can put up solid numbers yet again. Will that translate to more wins? Perhaps not, but it won’t be Green’s fault.
Blake Shapen, Mississippi State
It seems most fans have forgotten about Shapen. And that’s fair, considering he’s played only 8 and 4 games the last 2 seasons, respectively (at Baylor in 2023 and Mississippi State in 2024). He was doing well through 4 games last season before his injury. And 2 of those games were at Arizona State and vs. Florida, so it wasn’t all inferior competition. He had 8 TD passes to 1 interception and ran for 2 scores while completing 68.5 % of his passes. If he can stay healthy this fall (a big if), he’ll show why he’s being underrated.
Gunner Stockton, Georgia
I’m not saying Stockton will be great by putting him here. I just think that, unlike Simmons, who only had a couple of drives against Georgia last year, Stockton has a pretty solid body of work. He made some mistakes in the Playoff, for sure, but he also made plenty of winning plays both with his legs and his arm. If Georgia’s offensive line can hold up, I think he’ll finish ahead of where he’s currently being projected in SEC QB power rankings.
Ty Simpson, Alabama
I honestly had no idea what to do with Simpson in these rankings. So, being the resourceful person that I am, I reached out to my colleague, Derek Peterson, our resident Ryan Grubb enthusiast, for his take on the presumptive Alabama starting QB. Here’s what he said:
I would probably say underrated at this point? Somewhere between properly rated and underrated, but that’s not as clean.
QBs who sit and wait their turn and then win an outright job are usually pretty solid. Nuss is a good recent example.
I haven’t seen much love for Simpson at all. At least not over the top like Arch gets. Or even Mateer. No one should say he’s another Penix. But we also can’t say he’s not. If he’s beating out Mack I think that’s a good sign. Those dudes (Grubb and Kalen DeBoer) loved Mack when he got to them at UW.
That seems fair to me!
Underrated, overrated or properly rated? Assessing every SEC starting QB entering 2025 Saturday Down South.
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