Who’s the best QB in the SEC?

As y’all know by this website, we spend our time being very, very nice about the SEC. But September rolls closer, we’re going to say a few things that you probably won’t like and certainly won’t agree with.

But, as my uncle Hank said to me: “Opinions are like mouthholes. Everyone’s got one” (He may have substituted the word ‘mouth’ for something else, but not on this family website!)”.

So if you really think Quarterback 2 is a better QB than QB 1, then make sure you comment to tell us where we went wrong. You never know, we might listen….

So without further ado…

1) Aaron Murray (Georgia)

It’s a toss-up between Murray and Tyler Wilson of Georgia, but the reason why Murray’s No.1 is quite simply we think he’s going to have a better year. Yes, we realise that Murray, who threw for 3,000 yards and 35 TDs last season is losing Orson Charles, his tremendous tight end, but he keeps Malcolm Mitchell, Tavarres King, Marlon Brown and Michael Bennett at receiver – which will give him a huge amount of depth. Oh, and his running back Isaiah Crowell‘s going to be pretty good (if he stays out of trouble), too. And he’s keeping his staff offensively – which is more than can be said for Wilson and his motorbike-riding ex-coach, too.

2) Tyler Wilson (Arkansas)

Wilson is a brilliant quarterback, and is definitely going to go to the NFL. He’ll have great tailbacks in Knile Davis, Ronnie Wingo, Dennis Johnson to do some damage (expect John L. Smith’s offense to be pretty balanced), and with his arm, he’ll overcome the losses of Jarius Wright, Greg Childs and Joe Adams to turn Cobi Hamilton into a 1,000 yard receiver. Razorbacks fans hope.

3) AJ McCarron (Alabama)

AJ McCarron completes a pretty simple first 1-2-3 after an excellent National Championship Game vaulted him into big-time quarterback reckoning. No, we’re not a big fan of all the trash-talking he’s done with Tyrann Mathieu this off-season (would you guys shut up? Please?), but we ARE big fans of his on-the-field actions. With Trent Richardson gone, there’s going to be more focus on McCarron to perform (although Eddie Lacy is going to be special), and up his stats of 2,634 yards and 16 TDs that he put together in 2011. Kenny Bell (WR) and Michael Williams (TE) are going to be your receivers to watch out for, although with Alabama, anything can happen.

4) Connor Shaw (South Carolina)

Shaw replaced one of the jokes of 2011 in Stephen Garcia (sorry Gamecocks fans, but Garcia was a joke in his time at Williams-Brice) and was fantastic for the ‘Cocks – even though the loss of brilliant RB Marcus Lattimore could have crippled their season. We’ve ranked Shaw pretty highly because we think there’s a ton of good stuff to come – and with Lattimore back to carry some of the offense (and do some blocking) . Not only that, but after Garcia was booted, he went 7-1. And his coach is some guy called Steve Spurrier, who knows a bit about coaching quarterbacks. Ace Sanders and Justice Cunningham are going to have to pick up the load left by Alshon Jeffrey, though.

5)  James Franklin (Missouri)

WARNING: This ranking comes with a massive ‘Asterisk’, bearing in mind that he had shoulder surgery in the off-season.  Without surgery, the ‘Texan Tiger’ (our nickname, no-one elses) had a brilliant Big XII season, throwing for 2,686 yards and 21 touchdowns. Gary Pinkel’s going to give him even more chances to hit his spots in 2012 – particularly with the monster receiving target of Dorial Green-Beckham, who was the country’s No.1 prospect. If Beckham and Franklin both perform – and Columbia’s at its noisy best, SEC defenses should be on their toes.

6) Tyler Bray (Tennessee)

Tyler Bray could well be the man to turn around the Vols’ fortunes after the carnage left by Lane Satan Kiffin (2011 was a recovery year where it was somewhat of a miracle that the Vols finished 6-6 in the regular season). He’s got a great arm, he’s hungry, and he’s mobile -all the things that should have the Vol Navy cheering. A broken thumb put him out for almost half of the season (5 games). If the injury hadn’t happened – and Justin Hunter hadn’t succumbed to season-ending injury against Florida – then the Vols could well have been a real threat in the East. Now, the Vols could well frighten a few people in 2012 – definitely through the air.

7) Jordan Rodgers (Vanderbilt)

Rodgers is the last of the SEC’s proven starters this year, after going the whole season under the huddle (he finished 6-7, with 1,524 yards passing and 9 TDs). We saw a lot of grit from him against Georgia, when his legs – not necessarily his arm – seemed to scare the Dawgs defense and generate nearly 80 yards worth of rushing. His offensive line’s going to have to help more if Rodgers is going to keep down the interceptions mind – he threw more of them than he did touchdowns this year. But if you watch this clip roll against Florida, you’ll realise that he’s going to worry opponents. Can we mention he’s the  younger brother of future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers now?

8) Zach Mettenberger (LSU)

People are wondering why we’ve got Rodgers ahead of  Mettenberger and we’ll say this: Rodgers is more of a known quantity. Although Mettenberger clearly got a cannon, he wasn’t too bright in his decisions at Georgia (including a misdemeanor sexual battery charge) and managed to get himself booted out of Athens. One can only hope he’s grown up. But Les Miles needs a quarterback and needs one badly – even with one who’s going to need a lot of reps before the first game of the season- especially if you believe this review. But the 272 yard, 2 TD performance is a good start for the QB who reminds us an awful lot of Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler (that’s a compliment, by the way), and Les Miles will make sure he’s in shape for the big-time.

9) Tyler Russell (Mississippi State)

Russell’s season as a back-up wasn’t particularly quiet – he threw for over 1,084 yards and 8 yards in MSU’s 7-6 season in 2011, and he had 635 yards passing and 5 TDs in 2010, too. Now that Chris Relf has left, Dan Mullen can concentrate his efforts on Russell – and the junior quarterback can sparkle under him. Expect at least 2,000 from Russell this year – particularly as he’s now going to be the go-to man.

10) Jacoby Brissett/ Jeff Driskel (Florida)

Both Brissett and Driskel are going to be chomping at the bit to be the starting quarterback at The Swamp, and both had some experience at QB level – especially with the injury to John Brantley – but not enough to have everybody screaming tears of joy. Some fans feel Brissett should get the nod, citing arm, feet and ‘gunslinger mentality’, while some feel Driskel should get the nod. The ultimate judge will Coach Will Muschamp.

11) Jameill Showers (Texas A&M)

There was a lot of love for Showers after the Maroon & White Game in Aggieland, when he went 20-31 for over 200 yards and two ‘crisply thrown’ touchdowns, according to reports. Showers ran for a touchdown in 2010 against Kansas State, but what’s really going to prove if he’s got it will be in A&M’s first big-time game against the University of Florida, who come and visit Kyle Field on 8th September. Great name, too!

12) Kiehl Frazier/ Clint Moseley (Auburn)

Some people think Frazier will get the job, and others think Moseley will. New Tigers OC Scott Loeffler will let us all know pretty soon now. We think Moseley’s going to provide the arm, but watch out for Frazier on running and trick plays to give a bit of rest for Onterio McCalebb, who’s going to take a hell of a lot of the ball this year – particularly now Michael Dyer’s transferred to Arkansas State.

13) Maxwell Smith (Kentucky)

Smith started Kentucky’s Spring Game had 353 yards passing and two touchdowns, but also gave up two interceptions. Sorry, but he’s going to have to buck up his ideas to get people thinking about Kentucky about something else other than basketball and horse racing. 3-1 Joker Phillips’ is even in a job by the end of the season, by the way.

14) Barry Brunetti/ Bo Wallace (Ole Miss)

Brunetti was brutal last season for the awful Rebels, and unless he’s markedly improved over the last few months, would it be a shock if Wallace – a juco transfer – gets the starting nod? After all, he had the better Spring Game, and he looks more about a future. Heck, even Freeze admitted it, saying: “Just off the top of my head, I thought Bo had the best day. He functioned very well and kept us on schedule for the most part.” Rebels fans can only pray for better than last year.