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The quality of quarterbacks in the SEC has been talked about to a point of nausea.
National Signing Day represented a good recruiting year for the SEC when it comes to quarterbacks. SEC schools secured six of the top 10 quarterbacks nationally.
Here’s a chart of the 2016 quarterback commits:
| Player | School | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Shea Patterson | Ole Miss | 5 |
| Jacob Eason | Georgia | 5 |
| Feleipe Franks | Florida | 4 |
| Jarrett Guarantano | Tennessee | 4 |
| Brandon McIlwain | South Carolina | 4 |
| Jalen Hurts | Alabama | 4 |
| Woody Barrett | Auburn | 4 |
| Gunnar Hoak | Kentucky | 3 |
| Cole Kelley | Arkansas | 3 |
| Lindsay Scott | LSU | 3 |
| Micah Wilson | Missouri | 3 |
| Nick Starkel | Texas A&M | 3 |
| Kyle Trask | Florida | 3 |
| Deuce Wallace | Vanderbilt | 3 |
| Davis Kelly | Georgia | 3 |
Possible Starters
Jacob Eason will have every chance to win the starting job at Georgia during the spring and summer training camp.
Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart says Eason has a little bit a “learning curve,” which shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s an 18-year-old true freshman. But the physical tools are there. Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey aren’t going to separate from Eason to the point where he’ll be considered for a redshirt.
Smart money has Eason starting on opening day and it would be shocking if he wasn’t the full-time starter at some point in 2016.
Brandon McIlwain already has moved up to the second spot on the quarterback depth chart at South Carolina and is the best fit for Kurt Roper’s spread offense. Whether McIlWain starts on opening day could be up to his baseball schedule as he’s playing both sports for the Gamecocks.
More than likely Perry Orth will start to open the season, but expect McIlwain to split time with him early and eventually take over the job.
Primary Backup
If things go as planned for Ole Miss, this will be a year of apprenticeship for Shea Patterson while starter Chad Kelly makes a push for the Heisman Trophy, an SEC championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
If Kelly gets injured it would be easy to see Patterson jump into a starting role. Otherwise he’ll play in the blowouts or possibly be inserted at certain points in more competitive games.
Wild Cards
Woody Barrett and Feleipe Franks are wild cards that probably should be redshirted.
Auburn’s got Jeremy Johnson, a talented but over-coached prospect, and Sean White, a dependable No. 2 guy that was overmatched as a full-time starter. Barrett fits the Tigers offense better than White and possibly better than Johnson but he’s a true freshman and he’s not an early enrollee.
Franks is an early enrollee and Florida needs a big-time quarterback. But he’s extremely raw and had major mechanical and accuracy issues when he entered the program. Sometimes it can be detrimental to a young prospect to play too early and struggle. Not every player is mentally tough enough to deal with it, especially at a program like Florida where the fan base is hungry to get back to championship contention.
For 2016 the quarterback platoon of Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby should keep Franks (and Kyle Trask) on the bench and learning.
Likely Redshirts
As for Nick Starkel, Jarrett Guarantano, Jalen Hurts, Franks, Lindsay Scott, Micah Wilson, Cole Kelley and Trask it appears like a redshirt is the most likely possibility. They’ll need significant development in 2016 to be prepared to compete for a spot on the two deep in 2017.
Corey Long is a freelance writer for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow Corey on Twitter @CoreyLong.
