The SEC is known as the best college football conference in all of college football (sorry, Big 10, but it’s true). In today’s game, having an elite defense, a great running back, or an effective line can get a team to a bowl game, but it is no longer enough to get more than eight or nine wins. To be successful, a team needs to have an elite quarterback.
Historically, the SEC has not been known for elite quarterback play. In the 2000s, the best quarterbacks, for the most part, came from outside the conference. Instead, the league was filled with elite running backs and offensive lines that worked within the SEC’s culture.
There has been a major shift in the last decade or so, and the SEC is now rich with great quarterbacks. Some of the big names from the last decade include Joe Burrow, Drew Lock, Dak Prescott, and Tua Tagovailoa, who are just a few of the big names to play in the conference.
The SEC is full of great quarterbacks going into 2024, but who are the Top five? For this list, I will not include any incoming freshmen, transfers, or backups who are unproven at the SEC level.
5. Jalen Milroe – Alabama
The fact that Milroe is fifth on this list says a lot about how good and deep the SEC is. Last year, Miroe completed 66% of his passes for 2,834 yards, 23 TDs, and 6 INTs and added 531 yards and 12 TDs on the ground. There was actually quiet of the season last year where fans wanted Milroe to be replaced. However, he played just well enough to remain the starter.
The biggest questions about Milroe this year are whether he can improve on his completion percentage (66%) and whether he will fit in the Kalen DeBoer system. Sometimes, quarterbacks struggle to fit into a new system, and it can lead to a loss in confidence and efficiency.
4. Jaxon Dart – Ole Miss
Jaxon Dart is front and center in the Ole Miss offense. Unlike Milroe and Alabama, who rely heavily on the run game, the offense runs through the pass in Oxford. Last year, Dart completed 65% of his passes for 3,364 yards, 23 TDs, and only 5 INTs. Throughout his career, Dart has improved productivity by about 5-6%.
If he can make that kind of jump again, Dart is looking at completing about 68% of his passes for 3,600 yards, 25 TDs, and 4 INT. If he can put up that kind of numbers and keep his team out of the loss column, that is the kind of resume that could see him in New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Top odds to win 2024-25 Heisman Trophy:
Jalen Milroe (7/1)
Carson Beck (15/2)
Quinn Ewers (8/1)
Dillon Gabriel (10/1)
Will Howard (14/1)
Nico Iamaleava (16/1)
Jaxson Dart (16/1)
J.J. McCarthy (16/1)
Jackson Arnold (18/1)
Conner Weigman (18/1)
Garrett Nussmeier (22/1)
Riley…— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) January 9, 2024
3. Brady Cook – Missouri
Brady Cook may be the most underrated quarterback not only in the SEC, but the entire country. Last year Cook led the Missouri Tigers to an 11-2 season which nobody saw coming after the Tigers hadn’t won more than six games since 2018.
Cook’s stats were very impressive, completing 66% of passes for 3,317 yards, 21 TD, 6INT, and adding 319 rushing yards for 8 TD. He did all of this while having the Doak Walker Award runner-up Cody Schrader next to him in the backfield.
The biggest question is whether Schrader being gone will boost or hurt Cook’s performance. Sometimes, an elite QB takes away pass attempts and passing touchdowns significantly. Other times, an elite running back opens up the passing game so much that a QB can do just about anything they want in the passing game.
Cook also has a chance to elevate his stats this year with an easy schedule. The Tigers avoid Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Ole Miss while getting to play Araknasas, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.
2. Quinn Ewers – Texas
Quinn Ewers could be the top quarterback on this list very well, but he lacks one thing: experience against SEC defense. Sure, last year against Alabama, he lit up the stat sheet for 349 passing yards, 3 TDs, and no interceptions, but Texas was up for that game. How will he play when facing Oklahoma, Georgia, and Florida all in a four-game stretch? Until he shows he can handle getting up for every game against great competition, it’s tough to put him as the top QB in the league.
That being said, his stats last year are phenomenal, especially considering that he missed two regular-season games. He passed for 3,479 yards, 22 TD, and 6 INT while completing 69% of his pass attempts. Again, that was against Big 12 defenses primarily, but if he plays all 12 regular-season games, outside of the pass completion percentage dropping a bit, his other stats may actually improve.
1. Carson Beck – Georgia
People forget that Georgia only lost one game last year against Alabama in the SEC Title game. Since they missed the CFP, some quickly forget how elite Fromm was last year. Beck completed 72.4% of his passes for 3,941 yards, 24 TDs, and 6 INTs.
That would be impressive enough if he played the entire season, but he was relieved of his passing duties in 8 of the 13 games that the Bulldogs played in. That’s how dominant and good Beck was last year. There were nine games where Georgia won by three scores or more.
If Beck had played the entire season, and the Bulldogs hadn’t taken the foot off the accelerator, Beck would have been a 5,000-yard, 30 TD quarterback last year. This year, he may get that opportunity. With games against Clemson, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, Beck will have plenty of opportunities to pick up huge wins and secure a Heisman Trophy.
Former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah says that Georgia QB Carson Beck ‘reminds him of Eli Manning’ and is the ‘most talented UGA passer since Matthew Stafford👏
Considered to have ‘immediate starter potential’, is he a top prospect this year?🤔
— Fanzine NFL (@NFLFanzine) July 19, 2024
