SEC Quarterback Rankings for the 2025 season

USA Today

7 hours ago

The SEC is breaking in a number of new quarterbacks in the conference this year, but several players have a chance to be in the Heisman Trophy conversation as the season goes along. It's the most important position on the field, and much of how the SEC season will go will depend on which quarterbacks shine during the season.
There are only five schools that have the same week one starter that they did in 2024. Garrett Nussmeier, LaNorris Sellers, Taylen Green, Diego Pavia, and Blake Shapen are the only quarterbacks projected to start week one, two years in a row. But teams like Florida and Texas A&M found their starters midway through the 2024 season with D.J. Lagway and Marcel Reed.
Five teams will be rolling with transfer portal quarterbacks as their starters in 2025, and three schools have starters who have sat and waited for a couple of years: Arch Manning, Gunner Stockton, and Ty Simpson.
We're a couple of months away from the start of the season but fall camp will be here before we know it. Here's how we're stacking up the SEC quarterbacks ahead of 2025 training camp.
16. Zach Calzada, Kentucky
Zach Calzada is making his third swim through the SEC after stints with Texas A&M and Auburn. He had a breakout year for Incarnate Word. Can he help resurrect a Kentucky passing offense that struggled with Brock Vandagriff at QB last year?
15. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
Gunner Stockton helped Georgia win the SEC title after taking over for the injured Carson Beck but struggled against a good Notre Dame defense. He's likely to surpass this ranking, but there's a lot to prove for the Georgia quarterback.
14. Blake Shapen, Mississippi State
Blake Shapen has a ton of experience but that can only get you so far. We've seen some good from him dating back to his time at Baylor but in his only SEC game last year, he completed just 61% of his passes for 140 yards and a touchdown in a 17-point loss to Florida early in the season.
13. Austin Simmons, Ole Miss
Austin Simmons has big-time potential in Lane Kiffin's offense. He's one of a number of first-year starters in the SEC this season, and his dual-threat ability will give him the opportunity to shine.
12. Ty Simpson, Alabama
Next to Garrett Nussmeier is one of the more experienced quarterbacks in the SEC, he just hasn't thrown a ton of passes. He's appeared in 16 games and thrown just 50 passes. However, he's a former five-star prospect, and in a Kalen DeBoer-Ryan Grubb system, he should have a chance to shine.
11. Beau Pribula, Missouri
Beau Pribula, coming over from Penn State, may be last on this list, but he has the potential to finish in the top half of the league at quarterback. He's a dual-threat quarterback and has scored 19 touchdowns in his career. He may not have as much passing experience but he's an underrated talent in the conference.
10. Jackson Arnold, Auburn
What happened at Oklahoma last year wasn't entirely Jackson Arnold's fault. He has to own the turnovers but OU's lack of offensive production as a whole had more to do with injuries along the offensive line and at wide receiver. It wasn't an environment conducive to development for a first-year starter.
9. Joey Aguilar, Tennessee
Joey Aguilar may be making the jump from App State to Tennessee but he's got the tools to thrive in Josh Heupel's offense. He had two seasons with the Mountaineers with more than 3,000 yards passing and 56 touchdowns. That experience will matter for something in 2025.
8. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Marcel Reed took over for Connor Weigman last year and showed off his athleticism with an impressive performance against LSU. He was good in a loss to Auburn but struggled against Texas. If he can continue to develop, he'll have the Aggies in contention.
7. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
Diego Pavia revived the Vanderbilt Commodores with a great year one in the SEC. Wins over Alabama and Auburn, playing Texas to one score, Pavia elevated Vandy and has them in a better direction heading into 2025. Pavia combined for 3,000 total yards and 28 total touchdowns last year.
6. Arch Manning, Texas
Arch Manning has big-time potential, but he hasn't played enough to rank higher on this list. The tools are there to be the No. 1 quarterback in the SEC by the end of the season, but let's see how he fares as a full-time starter before propelling him to No. 1.
5. Taylen Green, Arkansas
Taylen Green helped Arkansas to a big win over Tennessee last year and had Oklahoma State on the ropes before the Razorback defense let the Cowboys back into it. Green threw for 3,158 yards and 15 passing touchdowns and eight rushing touchdowns in 2025. In year two with Bobby Petrino, Green should be even better.
4. D.J. Lagway, Florida
D.J. Lagway helped Florida have a strong end to the season with four wins in a row over LSU, Ole Miss, Florida State, and Tulane. He'll need to cut down on the interceptions against one of the toughest schedules in the nation.
3. John Mateer, Oklahoma
Sure, he's got to make the jump to the SEC, but Diego Pavia made the jump from the FCS and Taylen Green did so from Boise State and had a lot of success. Why won't Mateer be good? He had a combined 44 total touchdowns last year and 4,000 total yards. He's a dynamic player that's about to take the SEC by storm.
2. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
He may not start as No. 1 right now, but LaNorris Sellers has the potential to be the very best in the nation in 2025. In his first season as a starter, Sellers threw for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also ran 674 yards and another seven touchdowns to lead the Gamecocks to a 9-3 season.
1. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
Garrett Nussmeier is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the country returning for 2025, and he threw for more than 4,000 yards last year. He's one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025, and why LSU will be in the conference title hunt.
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