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Trio of first-year SEC quarterbacks nothing short of fantastic so far in 2016
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Entering this season, the SEC’s quarterbacks had more questions getting thrown at them than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will get a week from today in their first presidential debate.
The volume of questions has only intensified with LSU seemingly turning the page on QB Brandon Harris. Meanwhile, Auburn and Mississippi State still have no clue who their main signal-callers are through three games due to inconsistent performances, and now Florida and Kentucky are dealing with injuries to Luke Del Rio and Drew Barker, respectively.
However, some schools have found answers in first-year starters who look to be panning out so far. In fact, that’s really an understatement as some of these guys have accomplished some incredible feats in a short amount of time.
Let’s take a look at this trio of first-year starters who have seized their opportunities right away.
Jacob Eason, Georgia
For starters, Eason is only the sixth freshman QB to even start a game for Georgia.
With that said, Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney clearly aren’t shy to let Eason fling it around. He threw it 55 times in Georgia’s dramatic 28-27 win over Missouri in Week 3. As a result, Eason recorded the most pass attempts ever by a Georgia freshman QB in a game and tied for the third-most by any player in school history.
| RANK, PLAYER | PASS ATTEMPTS | SEASON | OPPONENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Eric Zeier | 65 | 1993 | Florida |
| 2. Cory Phillips | 62 | 2000 | Georgia Tech |
| T3. Jacob Eason | 55 | 2016 | Missouri |
| T3. Quincy Carter | 55 | 1999 | Georgia Tech |
With that many attempts, it figures that Eason posted career-highs in passing yards (308) and TD passes (3), but it was the final drive against Missouri’s stout defense that stood out.
Eason engineered a 10-play, 80-yard game-winning touchdown drive to take a 28-27 lead. On that drive, the top-ranked QB in the Class of 2016 was actually just 3-of-8 passing for 43 yards, which included five straight incompletions. However, his 20-yard TD pass to Isaiah McKenzie on 4th-and-10 was as clutch as it gets, especially considering this was his first full start.
Jalen Hurts, Alabama
Of course, first-year starting QBs with the Crimson Tide enjoy unparalleled success, and let’s quantify that.
Since 2009, those quarterbacks have posted a 55-4 record and won three national championships. Hurts is simply continuing that trend with wins in his first two starts over the last two weeks.
However, Hurts is the type of quarterback that Alabama hasn’t enjoyed for some time.
In Week 1, Hurts posted 2 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs. You have to go back to Tyler Watts in 2001 for the last Alabama QB to do that. Last Saturday against Ole Miss, the dynamic Hurts passed for 158 yards and ran for a team-high 146 yards. He’s the first Tide player to go for 100 yards through the air and 100 yards on the ground since … yet again, Watts in 2001.
Meanwhile, his 18 rushing attempts and 146 rushing yards were the most by any Alabama QB under Nick Saban. When it comes to the yards, it’s almost double the next-highest total.
| RANK, PLAYER | RUSHING YARDS | OPPONENT | SEASON |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Jalen Hurts | 146 | at Ole Miss | 2016 |
| 2. Blake Sims | 74 | at Ole Miss | 2011 |
| 3. Blake Sims | 70 | vs. Western Carolina | 2012 |
| 4. Jake Coker | 58 | vs. Ole Miss | 2015 |
In fact, Watts’ 162-yard performance at South Carolina in 2001 is the only effort that tops Hurts’ since the turn of the century.
Keep in mind that Hurts is the first true freshman QB to start in Tuscaloosa since Vince Sutton in 1984. Plus, Hurts’ 287 passing yards against Western Kentucky topped Brodie Croyle’s school record of 285 for the most in a starting debut in 2002.
Austin Allen, Arkansas
Like Eason, Allen has convinced his fans through late-game heroics. But in Allen’s case, he’s come through twice, and one of them came on the road against a top 15 team.
In that Week 2 performance, Allen led Arkansas past TCU in a 41-38 double-overtime win, snapping the Horned Frogs’ 14-game home win streak, which ranked third nationally. Over the final three drives of the game, including the two in overtime, Allen went 6-for-7 passing with 86 yards and 3 total TDs (2 passing, 1 rushing).
He caught the game-tying 2-point conversion in regulation to force overtime, and he ran in the game-winning touchdown in the second OT to win it, earning SEC Offensive Player of the Week for that performance. Not bad, right?
Allen is one of only four Arkansas quarterbacks since the school joined the SEC in 1992 to go 3-0 in his first three starts, joining Tyler Wilson (2011), Mitch Mustain (2006) and Robby Hampton (2000).
| SEASON | PLAYER | COMP PCT | PASS YDS | TD-INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Austin Allen | 67.1 | 655 | 7-2 |
| 2011 | Tyler Wilson | 68.6 | 822 | 6-2 |
| 2006 | Mitch Mustain | 49.2 | 440 | 7-2 |
| 2000 | Robby Hampton | 59.8 | 649 | 4-2 |
Allen has thrown multiple TD passes in all three games this season, one of only 18 FBS quarterbacks to accomplish that with Chad Kelly being the only other SEC QB.
But Kelly, and every other SEC QB for that matter, is looking up to Allen, who leads the SEC in completion percentage (67.1) and passer rating (160.9).
Talal Elmasry is Managing Editor at SaturdayDownSouth.com. Email him at telmasry@saturdaydownsouth.com.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
