Published Aug 15, 2017
Rivals.com QB Week: SEC teams that have had the most QB success
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Woody Wommack  •  Rivals.com
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@rivalswoody

As part of Rivals.com Quarterback Week we take a look at the SEC and rank the quarterback talent during the Rivals.com era, from 2002-present.

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GEORGIA

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The Bulldogs are still waiting for five-star Jacob Eason to truly break out, but during the Rivals.com era the Bulldogs have had several quality signal callers. David Greene and D.J. Schockley each lead the school to SEC Championships in the early 2000s and eventual No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Stafford held down the position from 2006-08. Shortly thereafter, Aaron Murray took over the job in Athens and had one of the best careers in SEC history in terms of statistics, finishing as the SEC career passing yards leader. With two five-stars QBs on its current roster, the Bulldogs' ranking as the SEC's leader is secure.

ALABAMA

The Tide have been college football’s most dominant program over the last decade, but often times quarterback isn’t a position that is mentioned first when talking about the school’s talented squads. However, dating back to Brodie Croyle, who just missed being ranked by Rivals.com, the school has actually had a pretty talented line of starters. Croyle spent several years in the league, and was succeeded by John Parker Wilson, another quarterback who bounced around the NFL. A.J. McCarron is probably the most prolific passer for Alabama in the Rivals.com era, helping win back-to-back national championships and finished as the runner up for the Heisman Trophy in 2013. Current starter Jalen Hurts is just a sophomore and will likely be in the Heisman discussion in the future.

AUBURN

While the Tigers have had inconsistency at the position the last few years, they end up high on this list primarily because of Cam Newton. The former five-star lived up to his billing, not only leading Auburn to a national championship in 2010, but also winning the Heisman trophy that same season. While Newton only played one year in college, it was one of the best seasons for a quarterback in SEC history, let along the Rivals.com era. Auburn also got great play out of Nick Marshall, who helped lead the team to a national championship game, and Jason Campbell, who was the SEC Player of the Year in 2004.

FLORIDA

While things have been unstable at the position in Gainesville in recent years, it wasn’t long ago that the Gators had Chris Leak play a major part in a national championship on a squad where Tim Tebow also saw playing time at the position. Once Tebow took over the job, he had one of the best careers of any quarterback in SEC history, winning another national title as the full-time starter and also winning a Heisman Trophy in 2007. The Gators have also had talented passers that ended up transferring, including Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel and Tyler Murphy.

TEXAS A&M

You can’t talk quarterbacks in the SEC without mentioning Johnny Manziel, one of the game’s biggest stars in recent years. Manziel took the college football world by storm, winning the Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman. While he only played two years in College Station before turning pro, he helped the Aggies get off to a great start in the league in terms of wins and losses as well. Manziel was preceded at Texas A&M by Ryan Tannehill and also got quality play from players like Reggie McNeal and Stephen McGee in the mid-2000s.