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SEC QB Rankings, Week 4: Georgia’s o-line has kept Carson Beck cool and comfortable. Can he take a little heat?

Matt Hinton

By Matt Hinton

Published:

Quarterbacks: There are a lot of them! Each week throughout the season, we’ll help you keep the game’s most important position in perspective by ranking the SEC starters 1-16 according to highly scientific processes and/or pure gut-level instinct. Previously: Week 1 … Week 2. … Week 3.

1. Quinn Ewers | Texas

Before we start, let’s all take a long sip of water. OK? OK. There’s a lot going on here: Between Ewers’ early exit against UT-San Antonio and Arch Manning‘s electric performance in relief, the forecast for the rest of the season is coming up static, and it might be a few weeks at the earliest before there’s any clarity. So, for the present, let’s stick with what we know: Ewers remains Texas’ starting quarterback until further notice. If and when that changes, the rankings will adjust accordingly.

If I had to guess, I’d say that any hint of a controversy will be prove to be short-lived. On the injury front, Ewers is “questionable” for this weekend’s game against UL-Monroe due a strained oblique, which is not as severe as initially feared when he was standing on the sideline on Saturday night in street clothes, looking somber. There’s certainly no hurry to rush him back against ULM, or for next week’s conference opener against Mississippi State; from there, the Longhorns are off in Week 6 ahead of their annual collision with Oklahoma on Oct. 12. That leaves nearly a full month for Ewers to get right for the Sooners while Manning holds down the fort.

The variable in that equation, of course, is that Manning is not some unsung understudy happy just to be filling in. As a recruit, he was one of the most coveted quarterback prospects of his generation, and he lived up to both the hype and the name on the back of his jersey against UTSA in the first meaningful action of his career. He threw a touchdown pass on his first play, broke a long touchdown run on his third play, and threw back-to-back TD passes on his first 2 possessions after halftime. His final line: 9-for-12 passing, 223 yards, 18.6 yards per attempt, 4 touchdowns, zero interceptions, astronomical ratings in terms of efficiency (341.1) and Total QBR (99.9), green lights as far as the eye can see.

Like most 1-game samples, it came with a few asterisks: UTSA was a 5-touchdown underdog, and the game was already well in hand when Manning came off the bench; 1 of his 4 TD passes was a glorified toss sweep that his receiver took the distance; another was a layup to a wide-open target whom the defense simply neglected to cover. No one is handing the kid the Heisman. Caveats notwithstanding, though, he looked like you want your highly touted heir apparent to look — unfazed, on target, and on schedule.

If his emergence is a “problem,” it’s the best kind: Two quarterbacks with both the upside and the chops to sustain a serious Playoff run through at least the regular season, which few if any other aspiring contenders can claim. (Maybe Alabama, although backup Ty Simpson remains a wild card.) A healthy Ewers is not going anywhere. But Manning’s time is clearly coming, sooner or later, and his presence raises the floor for a team whose margin for error will only continue to shrink as the season wears on. He’s got the stuff. If all he amounts to in the long run is an unusually decorated insurance policy, it’s one that every other team in America wishes it had.
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(Last week: 1⬌)

2. Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss

After a couple of near-flawless outings to open the season, Ole Miss’ 40-6 win at Wake Forest was almost as notable for the blemishes as for the final score: The Rebels committed their first turnover (an errant snap), the starting offense was forced to punt for the first time, and Dart threw his first interception. It wasn’t a perfect night — just a routine 34-point blowout over a Power 4 conference opponent on the road, ho hum. Dart finished 26-of-34 passing against the Demon Deacons for 377 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a 90.7 QBR, adding a 13-yard touchdown run for emphasis. Emphasis on emphasis.

https://twitter.com/OleMissSports/status/1835126996067660268/

Look, is it strictly advisable in the year 2024 for a Heisman-contending quarterback who’s more valuable as a passer than a runner to take on an opposing linebacker shoulder-first in the third quarter of a random non-conference game his team is already leading by 17 points? It is not. (Dart’s predecessor as QB1, Matt Corral, can advise on this subject.) Do we still love to see it? Hell yeah we do. Up a spot for laying it all on the line on The CW, never do it again.
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(Last week: 3⬆)

3. Jalen Milroe | Alabama

The execution hasn’t always been pretty, but the Tide’s explosiveness on offense is real. In their 42-10 win at Wisconsin, Milroe threw for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 17 attempts, adding another 75 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing. Four of Alabama’s 6 touchdown drives against the Badgers took less than 2 minutes off the clock, an emerging theme. Through 3 games, Bama’s 19 touchdowns with Milroe in the lineup have covered an average of 32.5 yards, with 15 of them coming on “drives” of 5 plays or fewer. Up next: A weekend off, followed by a reality check against Georgia that will set the tone for the rest of the season.
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(Last week: 4⬆)

4. Carson Beck | Georgia

Georgia cut it a little too close for comfort in a 13-12 win at Kentucky, a game that was every bit as close as the score implied and every bit as grueling. The Dawgs had the ball for just 9 offensive possessions, punted on 6 of them, and didn’t take the lead until the fourth quarter. Both Beck and Kirby Smart shrugged it off afterward as just a typical road test in the SEC; Georgia fans watching with an eye toward their next road trip, at Alabama in Week 5, presumably thought otherwise. The Dawgs finished with their fewest points, yards (262), and yards per play (4.9) in any game since the 2021 season opener, a 10-3 win over Clemson that memorably featured zero offensive touchdowns.

The biggest piece of that puzzle, and the most surprising, was a steady diet of pressure from the Kentucky pass rush. Beck, arguably the best-protected quarterback in America in 2023, has rarely had to operate under duress. In last year’s blowout win over Kentucky in Athens, he faced pressure on just 2 of his 36 drop-backs (per Pro Football Focus) in what still ranks as the best performance of his career by most metrics. On Saturday, the Wildcats generated pressure on 9 of Beck’s 27 drop-backs, a fairly standard rate for most quarterbacks but the highest rate that Beck has faced in any of his 17 career starts. With All-America guard Tate Ratledge on the shelf for the foreseeable future, the front line suddenly qualifies as a concern.
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(Last week: 2⬇)

5. Brady Cook | Missouri

Cook flies under the radar compared to the other guys in the top half of the rankings, but he reliably does the two things Mizzou needs him to do: Distribute the ball efficiently to his playmakers — most notably, but not limited to, Luther Burden III — and pose a credible threat as a runner. Through 3 games, 63.2% of his output as a passer has come via yards after catch while he leads the team with 4 rushing touchdowns.
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(Last week: 5⬌)

6. Nico Iamaleava | Tennessee

Iamaleava only made it midway through the second quarter against Kent State before getting the hook in a 71-0 slaughter that might have been even more lopsided than the score implied. Altogether, the Vols piled up 541 yards and scored touchdowns on 9 consecutive possessions to open the game … before halftime. Springing a surprise onside kick with a 30-point lead against a 50-point underdog was one of the most ruthless moves I’ve ever seen on a field; the fact that they did it with more than 3 minutes left in in the first quarter only drives home the absurdity.
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(Last week: 6⬌)

7. Garrett Nussmeier | LSU

Nussmeier rallied LSU from a 17-0 deficit to win at South Carolina, 36-33, a huge feather in his cap in the first true road start of his career. He also needed every one of a long list of breaks to go his way to pull it off, including 2 pick-6 INTs wiped out by penalties, the second of which would have effectively ended the game midway through the fourth quarter.

That’s Nussmeier flat on his back at the 20-yard line during the return, the result of a blindside block that negated the touchdown and kept LSU within one score. (South Carolina fans were up in arms over that call, but I’m not going to quibble over a hit that immediately drew flags from 3 officials.) He bounced back to lead a 55-yard, go-ahead touchdown drive on the Tigers’ next (and ultimately last) possession, highlighted by a crucial offsides penalty against Carolina on 4th-and-3 that extended the drive. Nussmeier has the arm to make a handful of “wow” throws per game, but consistency and decision-making are still works in progress, as is the ground game. (To which Nussmeier adds nothing.) If the Tigers have to count on him to keep pace while allowing 30+ points on a regular basis a la Jayden Daniels this season is going to be a wild ride.
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(Last week: 7⬌)>

8. Conner Weigman or Marcel Reed | Texas A&M

With Weigman nursing an injured shoulder, Reed was a revelation in the Aggies’ 33-20 win at Florida, accounting for 261 total yards and 3 touchdowns. For his effort, he was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, sharing the distinction with Arch Manning. To which it must always be said, where such recognition is concerned: Redshirt freshmen are NOT freshmen.

What is the point of singling out freshmen for recognition? In spirit, it’s to acknowledge the contribution of, essentially, rookies — newcomers making an immediate, notable contribution in their first year on campus, with the implicit promise of much more and better to come. A worthy goal. But redshirt freshmen, obviously, are not rookies or newcomers: By definition, they’re guys who have been around. They’ve had time to adjust to campus life, to be part of the team; they’ve already put in at least a full year’s work in the weight room, taken their lumps in practice, experienced the atmosphere of game days, endured long hours on road trips, and generally been immersed in the daily rhythms and routines of a college athlete. With the relaxed redshirting rules, most of them these days have already played in actual games, some of them significantly. Both Manning and Reed saw the field in 2023 as literal freshmen, with Reed earning his first career start last December vs. Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl. He’s not a rookie! Dubbing him “Freshman of the Week” goes against the spirit! The emphasis in the term redshirt freshman is supposed to be on the first word, not the second, thank you very much. [/end rant]

Anyway, Reed’s performance in Gainesville combined with Weigman’s Week 1 meltdown against Notre Dame has turned this into a bona fide controversy. Coach Mike Elko didn’t offer much clarity at his weekly Monday press conference, describing Weigman’s availability as “day to day and week to week.” (Aren’t we all.) The Aggies are in tune-up mode this week against Bowling Green before resuming SEC play against Arkansas. If Reed gets the nod again, he might have a chance to make it permanent.
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(Last week: 9⬆)

9. Taylen Green | Arkansas

I cite PFF’s work often here, and there’s a lot of value in their wealth of comprehensive, in-depth data. But the grading system itself can be frankly mystifying. Take Green’s performance in a competitive, 37-27 win over UAB, a rough one by any standard. As a passer, he completed fewer than half of his passes (11-for-26) for a pedestrian 6.2 yards per attempt; recorded an interception, a fumble and 4 sacks, but no touchdowns; and posted red-flag ratings in terms of efficiency (86.6) and QBR (50.8). On the plus side, he was highly productive as a runner, rushing for 112 yards (excluding sacks) with 2 TDs, 5 runs of 10+ yards and 7 missed tackles forced. Statistically, I would describe that outing as “turbulent.”

His PFF grade? A robust 90.3, tops among all SEC quarterbacks for the week, including Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe, and Arch Manning. (Not to mention Nico Iamaleava, who somehow earned the weekend’s worst grade in a game in which his team set the school scoring record.) Aside from his output on the ground, other points in Green’s favor included 3 “big-time throws” — a subjective category defined as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window” — and 2 drops that raised his “adjusted completion percentage” above the Mendoza line, neither of which was exceptional. No doubt the film eaters can show their work according to a rigorous, standardized process, and bless them for it. Just always keep in mind that this stuff is one tool among many, not the gospel. Take it with a grain of salt.
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(Last week: 10⬆)

10. Diego Pavia | Vanderbilt

Vandy’s 2-0 start turned into a pumpkin in a wild, 36-32 loss at Georgia State, although not without a valiant effort from Pavia, who led 3 fourth-quarter touchdown drives in a losing effort. Altogether, both teams combined for 5 touchdowns in the fourth quarter and 2 lead changes in the final 2 minutes. Dropping a heartbreaker to a double-digit underdog from the Sun Belt is a very “Vandy being Vandy” type of loss, which is exactly what the ‘Dores did not want to have hanging around their neck heading into the SEC opener at Missouri.

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(Last week: 8⬇)

11. Jackson Arnold | Oklahoma

Arnold did more damage with his legs than his arm against Tulane, running for a team-high 97 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 34-19 win. His mobility is an asset, but combined with a dismal effort against Houston in Week 2, his struggles as a passer against the welterweight segment of the schedule are alarming.

Over the past 2 weeks Arnold has averaged a middling 5.6 yards per attempt with 2 INTs and only 1 completion of 20+ air yards. He’ll benefit from getting WR Nic Anderson back this weekend against Tennessee, but if you want to know why the Vols are favored by a touchdown in Norman, the answer begins and ends with the gap between Arnold and his 5-star counterpart, Nico Iamaleava. An upset bid on a national stage would turn that narrative around in a hurry, but it will require Arnold to be significantly better than what we’ve seen from him so far.
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(Last week: 11⬌)

12. LaNorris Sellers | South Carolina

Carolina fans reserved most of their frustration for the refs, but the game really turned when Sellers called it a day at halftime due to a sore ankle. At that point, he’d accounted for 201 total yards and 2 touchdowns as a runner, including an eye-opening, 75-yard run on which he clocked in at nearly 21 miles per hour.

His exit marked the end of the Gamecocks’ capacity to put the ball in the air: Backup Robby Ashford‘s 10 drop-backs in the second half yielded 3 sacks, 3 scrambles, 4 actual pass attempts and just 1 completion for a first down, on the final last-gasp drive of the game. Sellers will be “ready to roll” this week against Akron, per Shane Beamer; no word on the status of his eyewear.
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(Last week: 14⬆)

13. Hank Brown | Auburn

It flew under the radar compared to the more high-profile breakouts of Arch Manning and Marcel Reed, but Brown had a fine debut in Week 3, throwing 4 touchdown passes to 4 different receivers in a 45-19 win over New Mexico. Brown was also an impressive 5-for-6 on attempts of 10+ air yards. There’s no telling how well that translates to conference play — check back after this weekend’s SEC opener against Arkansas — but suffice to say Auburn fans have probably seen the last of the beleaguered Payton Thorne for a while. Possibly for good.
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(Last week: n/a)

14. Blake Shapen | Mississippi State

The final score of Mississippi State’s 41-17 loss to Toledo was bad enough, and the reality was worse: At one point the Rockets led 35-3 before allowing a couple of late, purely cosmetic touchdown drives to soften the humiliation. That came a week after the Bulldogs tacked on a couple of late scores against Arizona State in a game they trailed 30-3. Across both games, all 4 of Shapen’s touchdown passes the past 2 weeks have come with his team trailing by at least 14 points.
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(Last week: 13⬇)

15. Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway | Florida

Whatever the merits of the plan to alternate Mertz and Lagway by possession against Texas A&M, in practice the rotation was dead on arrival. Thank the defense for that, with a hat tip to Mother Nature. On the former front, the Gators simply couldn’t get A&M’s offense off the field: The Aggies so thoroughly dominated time of possession in the first half that Florida’s offense barely got a snap in edgewise, and every time it did the hole on the scoreboard was a little deeper. In the meantime, a lengthy lightning delay only added to the gloom.

Lagway’s afternoon in particular was cursed before it even began. After a week of anticipation, his first series of the game came with A&M already leading 10-0, and was immediately interrupted by the weather delay following his first snap; he returned roughly 45 minutes later to complete the last 2 plays of a 3-and-out. By the time he got on the field again, the Gators trailed 20-0 with less than a minute to play in the first half, having run a grand total of 12 plays to that point to the Aggies’ 47.

In that context, Lagway’s dismal stat line (6-for-13, 54 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 15.2 QBR) was misleading, especially given that the 2 picks came on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half and on Florida’s final play of the game in garbage time, respectively. Neither made any difference in the outcome, unlike Mertz’s pick-6 in the third quarter that officially ended the competitive portion of the proceedings. But the circumstances didn’t make the result any less deflating.

If the point of handing the keys to the freshman was to generate some semblance of a spark — regardless of the outcome — the experiment could have hardly gone worse. The crowd was thinned out and the vibes were morose before Lagway had even loosened up.

Billy Napier stuck to his guns at his weekly Monday press conference, telling reporters that “we’re committed to playing both players” and describing the situation as “open-ended.” If either guy gets the hot hand this weekend at Mississippi State, Napier seems prepared to ride it. If not, there’s a very real possibility that that press conference could be his last.
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(Last week: 12⬇)

16. Brock Vandagriff | Kentucky

Kentucky has failed to crack the end zone in back-to-back home losses and Vandagriff, inevitably, has taken his fair share of the blame. In his defense, his offensive line has barely given him a chance. Per PFF, Vandagriff has faced pressured on 30 of 51 drop-backs the past 2 weeks, easily the highest rate (58.8%) of any FBS quarterback in that span with at least 20 drop-backs. Those plays have yielded as many sacks (6) as completions (6), for a net loss in total yards. The jury is still out on his viability as a full-time starter, but at the very least he deserves an opportunity to operate in something other than “duck and cover” mode before returning a verdict.
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(Last week: 16⬌)

Matt Hinton

Matt Hinton, author of 'Monday Down South' and our resident QB guru, has previously written for Dr. Saturday, CBS and Grantland.

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