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Well, things have changed a little.
Out is Nico Iamaleava, in is Joey Aguilar. Welcome to the new SEC quarterback picture.
As a result of that, it feels like the right time to do a new ranking of the SEC quarterbacks in 2025. Spring is in the books. And while the transfer portal could still tweak a few things — the window is closed but players who have already filled out their paperwork can still be added — we should be past any significant quarterback moves.
I do my SEC quarterback rankings a little differently. While some might base it entirely on how big of numbers a guy will put up, I try to treat it like I’m having a schoolyard draft of who I’d pick for my hypothetical team. That allows me to focus more on who I think is the better player as opposed to who is in the better situation, though obviously that’s not an exact science. I also rank these based on who I believe these guys are going to be on Day 1 of the 2025 regular season.
So, let’s rank some SEC quarterbacks, but just so you don’t think that I’m copying and pasting my rankings from last time when I did “the thing I like most,” I’m going to describe them with the thing that could be most concerning:
16. Zach Calzada, Kentucky
The thing that could be most concerning — A guy who fell out of favor at 2 SEC programs is now at his 3rd SEC school, and he’s doing so for an offensive coordinator that just led the No. 119 offense in the nation. Unless Calzada’s time at Incarnate Word had a similar effect that it had on a certain Cam Ward a few years ago, Calzada’s climb into the top half of SEC quarterbacks is steep.
15. Joey Aguilar, Tennessee
The thing that could be most concerning — He’s being tasked with learning an entirely new, up-tempo offense as a post-spring transfer after being involved in the first quarterback trade of the NIL era. For someone who threw more interceptions than any player in the country, that’s a troubling thought. In an offense that’s predicated on timing, Aguilar’s task of getting up to speed will be daunting.
14. Beau Pribula, Mizzou
The thing that could be most concerning — As much as Pribula doesn’t deserve to be grouped into typical QB2 status because he had an actual role in Penn State’s offense, it’s worth noting that he only attempted 4 passes that were beyond 20 yards last year. He completed 1 of them, 2 were dropped and 1 was a standard incompletion. It’s not that we know that Pribula can’t become a successful downfield passer; it’s that he wasn’t asked to do that in his specialized role at Penn State.
13. Jackson Arnold, Auburn
The thing that could be most concerning — There were 19 SEC quarterbacks who attempted at least 15 passes that were 20 yards downfield, and among them, Arnold ranked 19th with a 26.7% adjusted completion percentage. That Oklahoma offensive line didn’t exactly give Arnold a ton of time back there, but he only had a 94.3 NFL QB rating when he was kept clean, which was last among SEC quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks.
12. Blake Shapen, Mississippi State
The thing that could be most concerning — Shapen didn’t even get a full game of SEC experience in Jeff Lebby‘s offense. It’s odd to cite experience as a potential deterrent for a 24-year-old quarterback, but this is more about mastering the concepts of that unit. That shoulder injury didn’t prevent him from participating in spring ball, which is a huge positive, but I worry for Shapen that with a ton of turnover on that offense again, he’ll still be fighting an uphill battle in SEC play.
11. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
The thing that could be most concerning — It’s 6 quarters of meaningful football that came against the 2 best passing defenses in America. That sample size is extremely unique. Stockton had flashes, but I’m not sold that he’ll be developed well enough under Mike Bobo to do the heavy lifting in big-time games. At the very least, we need to see how Stockton handles throwing under pressure, where he had a 55.9 NFL QB rating with just 3 scramble attempts in 31 such dropbacks.
10. Ty Simpson, Alabama
The thing that could be most concerning — Maybe this is a little bit too modern of an approach, but the thing I keep coming back to with Simpson is this — why did it take until Year 4 for him to seize the opportunity? With all due respect to Jalen Milroe, he left the door open multiple times for Simpson to take that opportunity and he didn’t. If Simpson doesn’t seize the opportunity this time — the opportunity to work with Ryan Grubb and Kalen DeBoer was an 8-figure move for Michael Penix Jr. — he could be giving way to 5-star true freshman Keelon Russell.
9. John Mateer, Oklahoma
The thing that could be most concerning — I’ve been admittedly all over the place on Mateer this offseason because I think he’s the ultimate SEC wild card, in large part because he’s got a gunslinger mentality with a defensive-minded head coach who hasn’t exactly mastered the art of handling a QB room yet. According to PFF, he was responsible for the 2nd-highest allowed pressure percentage (33.7%) among FBS quarterbacks, which he overcame playing mostly a Group of 5 schedule. In the SEC, that might be a different beast.
8. Taylen Green, Arkansas
The thing that could be most concerning — Only 3 FBS quarterbacks allowed more pressures on dropbacks than Green, and he only threw 4 touchdown passes under pressure. Green struggled as a passer with the transition from the Mountain West to the SEC, which was reflected in the fact that in 7 games against FBS teams with a winning record, he had just 4 touchdown passes. Half of those came against whatever was left of the Texas Tech defense in the bowl game.
7. Austin Simmons, Ole Miss
The thing that could be most concerning — The same thing I love about Simmons — he delivered the most important drive of Ole Miss’s season in relief of an injured Jaxson Dart — is the same thing that gives me pause about him. It’s possible that we’re overrating him for the simple reason that he looked incredibly poised in a high-pressure situation, which was the first of his college career.
6. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
The thing that could be most concerning — As a passer, Reed didn’t look like someone who had it figured out yet. There were 16 SEC quarterbacks who attempted at least 20 passes that traveled 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and Reed ranked 15th with a 27.8% adjusted completion percentage. On throws under pressure, which happened on 32.1% of his dropbacks, he averaged just 4.4 yards per attempt. The only qualified SEC quarterback (min. 50 dropbacks) with a worse mark was Michael Hawkins Jr., who got benched after 3 starts.
5. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
The thing that could be most concerning — The raw offensive numbers were far from special. Pavia led a unit that failed to crack the top 100 in yards/play and scoring offense in conference play. Nobody in America had fewer turnovers than Vandy, which Pavia was obviously a huge part of, but a lot of that was because the offense was extremely conservative. If that area regresses at all, that margin for error could be slim for a Vandy team that won 6 of its games by 10 points or less.
4. Arch Manning, Texas
The thing that could be most concerning — Besides the fact that the 2 career starts came against teams that Texas was expected to beat by 100, he only attempted 16 passes under pressure last year. He also took 7 sacks in those spots compared to 3 scrambles. I’m not saying that’s alarming for an offense that has 4 new starters on the offensive line, but it’s something to monitor if Manning doesn’t live up to some lofty expectations.
3. DJ Lagway, Florida
The thing that could be most concerning — Um, the shoulder injury that prevented him from throwing a football in spring practice. That’s obvious. It’s great that he’s back throwing the football, but Lagway has a ton of new targets that he’ll be working with, and it would’ve been ideal for him to get more than mental reps with those guys. It’s the reason that I switched his place with LaNorris Sellers at the 2-3 spots.
2. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
The thing that could be most concerning — The ball security improved in the latter half of the season, but Sellers still needs to improve in that area, and he’ll have to do so with a new play-caller in Mike Shula. The only FBS quarterback with more turnover-worthy plays under pressure (15) was former UCLA starter Ethan Garbers. Sellers has more upside on those plays than practically anyone in the sport, but South Carolina’s ability to protect better and provide more downfield weapons would prevent the offense from being so reliant on highlight-reel plays to move the chains.
1. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
The thing that could be most concerning — He’s a pocket passer who just operated behind a pair of tackles who went in the top 100 picks of the NFL Draft, including the No. 1 blindside protector in the 2025 class. We can talk all we want about LSU‘s ability to develop offensive line talent with Brian Kelly, but if the Tigers are a liability there, it’s fair to wonder how Nussmeier will handle it after he only scrambled on 7 of those 153 dropbacks under pressure. Nussmeier’s ability to take that Year-2 jump as a starter will be defined by that.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
