Four-Star Checkup: SEC quarterbacks making big plays
Each week during the college football season we use Tuesday as a chance to look back at four four-star prospects that shined during the previous week’s college football action. Today we focus on a quartet of SEC quarterbacks who came up big in their teams victories over the weekend.
As a recruit: Lock collected offers from schools such as Ohio State, Louisville and Michigan State but the Missouri native didn’t draw out his recruitment long, committing to Mizzou during the spring of his junior season and never wavering on his commitment.
What he did this week: After being thrown right into the fire during his freshman season and having his share of struggles, Lock has quietly developed into one of the SEC’s top quarterbacks. After throwing for 3,399 yards in 2016, Lock is on pace to eclipse that number and do it in more efficient fashion in 2017. In Saturday’s victory over Tennessee he threw for 217 yards and four touchdowns while sitting out the fourth quarter. Missouri is on a four-game winning streak and has scored at least 45 points in each of the victories. Tigers fans will hope to have Lock back in 2018 but it’s possible his excellent season will give him a shot at leaving early for the NFL.
As a recruit: Despite having a national offer list and being ranked in the Rivals250, Hurts kept a relatively low profile on the recruiting trail. His recruitment came down to Alabama, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Florida and he committed to the Tide following the conclusion of his junior year.
What he did this week: Hurts surprised many when he arrived in Tuscaloosa and wrestled the starting job away from Rivals100 quarterback Blake Barnett and led Alabama to the national championship game as a true freshman. Despite being a known commodity heading into 2017, Hurts has stepped his game up a notch, especially as a passer. In Saturday’s surprisingly close win over Mississippi State, Hurts stepped up when it mattered most, throwing for 242 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 40 yards and a score. Alabama is poised to retake the No. 1 spot in the nation and with Hurts leading the attack it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Tide back in the national championship game for the third year in a row.
As a recruit: Stidham was ranked in the 2015 Rivals100 and signed with Baylor out of high school over Oregon and Texas Tech, where he was once committed. After an injury forced him into action as a true freshman, he quickly lived up to his pre-college hype, completing 68 percent of his passes in 10 appearances before suffering his own season-ending injury. Following the scandal at Baylor, Stidham elected to transfer, spending a year redshirting at a junior college before landing at Auburn.
What he did this week: Auburn recruited Stidham to solidify the quarterback position and that’s exactly what he has done in his first year on the Plains. In Saturday’s win over then-No. 1 Georgia, Stidham had one of his best games of the season, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes while throwing for 214 yards and three touchdowns and also rushing for another score. So far Auburn and Stidham have been the perfect marriage and thanks in part to his play on Saturday, the Tigers have a realistic path to the College Football Playoff.
As a recruit: Bentley was originally a member of the 2017 class, but reclassified and enrolled in time to join South Carolina just prior to the start of preseason camp. Bentley weighed options that including Auburn, Alabama and Georgia before electing to commit to South Carolina, where his father Bobby is the Gamecocks' running back coach.
What he did this week: Bentley has been one of the best stories in the SEC over the past two seasons, first graduating high school a full year early so he could join the Gamecocks, then burning his redshirt midway through his freshman season and leading the school to a bowl game. This year, Bentley has only gotten better and while he struggled at times in Saturday’s win over Florida, throwing three interceptions, he also threw for 249 yards and ran for two scores. The interceptions doubled Bentley’s total for the year coming into the game but the Gamecocks got the win and Bentley continues to impress.
