Quarterback questions abound in the SEC
I cannot remember the last time that the SEC had this many questions at the quarterback position as Spring practice draws to a close.
It’s just one man’s opinion, but:
**–There are only two solid locks returning at quarterback in this league.
**–There are four returning starters who I will call “on the bubble.”
**– There will definitely be six new starting quarterbacks in the SEC when the 2010 season starts.
Here’s the breakdown. Feel free to tell me where you agree or disagree:
THE LOCKS
These guys will go the distance if they stay healthy:
Greg McElroy, Alabama: Led his team to a national championship last season and is 29-0 as a starter dating back to high school. He completed almost 61 percent of his passes last season for 17 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Redshirt freshman AJ McCarron is the backup and is going to be very, very good.
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas: Mallett, who is sitting out the spring while recovering from foot surgery, led the SEC in passing (3,624 yards) with 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He should only be better in the second year working in Bobby Petrino’s offense. Mallett is the best NFL prospect in the league.
ON THE BUBBLE
These guys started a year ago and will start again. But there are no guarantees they will keep the job for the entire season:
Mike Hartline, Kentucky: Hartline, a rising senior, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game against South Carolina and was replaced by true freshman Morgan Newton. Hartline’s experience has given him an edge this spring but he will be pushed by Newton and sophomore Ryan Mossakowski. Newton gives the ‘Cats bigger play-making ability. He also makes more mistakes.
Jordan Jefferson, LSU: Jefferson (2,508 passing, 17 TD) has all kinds of talent but he is wildly inconsistent and I don’t believe the coaching staff trusts him enough to turn really him loose. He will start against North Carolina in the opener (Sept. 4 at the Georgia Dome) but watch this one closely. I’ve spoken to enough football people to believe that Jarrett Lee, who has had an up and down career, is talented enough to regain the job if he can find his confidence again. Lee has talent but has not been developed well.
Stephen Garcia, South Carolina: Coach Steve Spurrier has made no secret of the fact that he is not completely pleased with the junior from Tampa. Garcia’s numbers were decent (2,862 yards, 17 TD) but he still makes too many bad decisions (ninth in the SEC in passing efficiency) and doesn’t work hard enough in the off-season. Freshman Connor Shaw (from Flowery Branch, Ga.) played well in the spring and will push Garcia this summer. Garcia will be on a very short leash once the season begins.
Larry Smith, Vanderbilt: When Smith led the Commodores to a win over Boston College in the 2008 Music City Bowl, the coaching staff thought they had their quarterback of the future. But Smith (46.7 percent passing) and the Vanderbilt offense (ranked 110th nationally) struggled last season. JUCO transfer Jordan Rogers, freshman Charile Goro, and redshirt junior Jared Funk all got snaps in the final spring scrimmage. Head coach Bobby Johnson shook up his offensive coaching staff hoping to get more production so a change in quarterback could also be possible.
THE NEW GUYS
(Last year’s starter in parentheses)
Cameron Newton, Auburn (Chris Todd): The former Florida backup is a great athlete at 6-6, 247-pounds. He won a JUCO national championship and is going to get the chance to run Gus Malzahn’s spread offense. The coaching staff is mum on the subject but it’s hard to see Barrett Trotter, Clint Moseley or Neil Caudle running this offense better.
John Brantley, Florida (Tim Tebow): The junior had a good spring but that was expected. The unexpected news for the Gators this spring is how well freshman Trey Burton and tight end Jordan Reed can run the “Tebow package.” Florida can’t replace Tebow’s leadership and intangibles, but it looks like the offense is going to be very good again.
Aaron Murray, Zack Mettenberger, Logan Gray, Georgia (Joe Cox): Mettenberger has a very good arm, which he showed in the spring game. Gray is a versatile athlete who can do a lot of things. He is one of those “glue guys” who holds a team together. Yes, I know that the coaches are saying that the quarterback competition will carry over until this summer. But barring injury Murray, my Bulldog friends, will be your starting quarterback when the season begins on Sept. 4. He is the complete package. He has what (Duke coach) David Cutcliffe calls the “it” factor that good quarterbacks have.
Nathan Stanley, Ole Miss (Jevan Snead): Stanley has all but locked up the job because an expected challenge from redshirt freshman Raymond Cotton never materialized. Stanley, a redshirt sophomore, is an accurate passer with good mobility. Cotton, a redshirt freshman, is more mobile. JUCO transfer Randall Mackey will get in the mix this summer and could spice things up with this athleticism.
Chris Relf, Tyler Russell, Miss. State (Tyson Lee): Relf, a redshirt junior, played well in the 2009 season finale against Ole Miss (three touchdowns) and has had a very good spring. But Russell is a special talent and, after redshirting last season, is just too good to keep on the bench. Coach Dan Mullen is going to have some nice options in 2010.
Matt Simms, Tyler Bray, Tennessee (Jonathan Crompton): Nick Stephens, the only Tennessee quarterback with experience, has transferred leaving the field open for Simms, a junior college transfer, and Bray, a true freshman. With back-to-back games against Oregon and Florida in September, it’s hard to believe that Simms won’t start the first game if he stays healthy. With a very young offensive line, it could be tough sledding for whoever wins this job.
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230 comments Add your comment
Fatrick Pact
April 14th, 2010
3:29 pm
I will bore you to death with stats……………….
How2fish
April 14th, 2010
3:37 pm
Gatorzone frankly I’m not at all sure that Murray won’t start the season..closed practices and only getting to see the QB’s in 3 scrimmages doesn’t give us a lot to go on..However I do trust CMR to choose wisely his “mistakes” with Joe T and Joe Cox were only “mistakes’ in what most fans revel in and that is hindsight.I firmly believe that he did the best he could with what he had to work with at the time. Murray has great ability and can stretch the field..Mett has a gun , Gray more experience but so limited to my mind as to be a non-factor.. it will be interesting to see how it shakes out.
BS Patrol
April 14th, 2010
3:53 pm
Any ACC team could win the NC with the cupcake schedule ga has.
help, I live in Ga
April 14th, 2010
3:53 pm
Tide Risin, you make some valid points about the qb situation in Knoxville. One thing to add: UT had arguably the best receiver class in the nation this year. One 5 star (sorry Dawgs, but you got our guy last year) a couple of 4 stars and a handful of other talented guys. The luckiest guy in the SEC is Simms who comes in, and has the only QB with experience quit and his only other competition is not physically ready to play in the SEC. Add to that the fact that he will have this stable of receivers to make his stats look good. In two years, when Brey takes over, that should be a powerful offense. Time and Dooley will tell.
One last note on Crompton. One NFL draft analyst said that he thinks “Crompton is the second best QB in the draft–certainly in the top 3 or 4.” How crazy is that? He will probably go in the second round. In bizarro world, Crompton could go before Tebow? Crazy.
Gene Chizik
April 14th, 2010
3:58 pm
My team will still suck this year.
Patrick Fact
April 14th, 2010
4:00 pm
fatrick is actually fairly descriptive of Mr. Sulley.
How2fish
April 14th, 2010
4:01 pm
BS Patrol you ACC “champs” couldn’t beat UGA STFU…your the only “cupcake” on the schedule 8-1…
Kiffinisatosser
April 14th, 2010
4:21 pm
PTI = that crap article on Auburn at bleacher report was almost unreadable. Get a life. Tony has put together some good columns lately. You can at least understand his points.
Chizique
April 14th, 2010
4:23 pm
Cam Newton just borrowed that laptop. How often does I need to tell yous?
PTI
April 14th, 2010
4:32 pm
Maybe he has, KIFFINKISSER, but this article of TB’s stinks…The bleacher was edgy and supported with facts and conclusions. Period.
pi$$onatechie
April 14th, 2010
4:51 pm
Kaput,
Then why did Meyer mention he will go with 2 QBs? I understand this wild cat crap that everybody is doing but by doing so it is not the same as with Tebow, the think with Tebow is he can run it, he can throw it, and it it is almost always with positive yardage, worked perfect. Meyer doesn’t believe in traditional offense although there is some in his offense but mostly about shuffle pass, option and occasionally jump pass. here is a question for ya if its third and 3 to go, what you gonna do? get Brantley out and get the guy who can run in, ok the D will play the run 99% of the time the safeties are close to the scrimmage line, will Meyer trust a freshman whose job is running the ball to throw on a single coverage. what Im saying Meyer has to go with Brantley all the time even if its 3 and 1 but this is out of the comfort zone for Meyer. it will be interesting to watch, i think Florida will lose to Alabama, LSU and Georgia and possibly to FSU.
Patrick/pi$$
April 14th, 2010
5:02 pm
Nobody is the same as Tebow he was a freak you idiot. I hope you bet on all of those games you think florida will lose because you will be 1-3. You never answered the q about your truck.
hey fatrick.
April 14th, 2010
5:04 pm
If you would have watched the fl spring game you would figure out why no one has the same opinion as you moron. Reed or Burton will come in on short yardage just like Tebow did when he was a freshman. Go play with your blowup doll.
POAD
April 14th, 2010
5:07 pm
It must be late in the blog nothing but name calling and a need for a diaper change.
Tide Rising
April 14th, 2010
5:08 pm
Digger Dogs,
Oklahoma did not win the national title with a freshman qb. Josh Heupel was a senior when they won it in 2000.
Shelley Myer,
Perhaps if Travis had made the payments the car dealership and not Bama boosters wouldn’t have repossessed the truck. Travis’s beef with Bama was that he had a bad shoulder injury and he didn’t feel the medical staff did a good job of treating his shoulder. He and the training and medical staff disagreed so he transferred and we willingly let him transfer to a rival sec school.
Bill E. Goat
April 14th, 2010
5:13 pm
It’s amazing to read folks like pi$$onatechie and this moron Patrick that don’t have a freaking clue as to what they’re talking about. No wonder they talk so loudly in April and May but come Octiber November they dissapear.
Seriously some of you are sad and if you believe half the crap you type here I would venture to say you’re more than half retarded.
MVP
April 14th, 2010
5:16 pm
CHOKE! THE OFFICAL DRINK OF THE GEORGIA BULLDAWGS!
Georgia has a weak schedule
April 14th, 2010
5:17 pm
as always.
Tide Rising
April 14th, 2010
5:19 pm
help I live in Georgia,
People made a lot of fun of Crompton prior to last season and during the early part of the season. Then near the end of the season he was actually leading the sec in passing and passing efficiency. I’m not sure but I believe he did end up 1st or 2nd in either overall passing or passing efficiency. I do remember in the Bama game that despite all the criticism people had of him he made several tough and very clutch passes against us.
Jarrett Lee of LSU reminds me of Crompton in that Crompton made some really bad throwing decisions early in his career, got derided a lot, and then in his last year he eliminated the really bad mistakes and had a great year. If Jarrett lee at LSU could eliminate 2-3 really bad throwing decisions a game he could emerge as a good qb. The guy has a decent arm and people would forget that he made a lot of good, accurate passes when he wasn’t making the big time bad passes that people remember him for in the big games. Unfortunately, the pick 6 tds against UGA and Bama really stand out and that’s what people remember him for.
Georgia Bulldawgs Fan
April 14th, 2010
5:20 pm
My Bulldawgs still will suck 2010.
hey fatrick.
April 14th, 2010
5:27 pm
Bill E Goat all of these same idiots ARE patrick
Can you dig it?
April 14th, 2010
5:27 pm
Brantley will be a bust….believe me I’ve seen him play…he’s got happy feet in the pocket and an average arm. Urban Cryer will start making excuses immediately and pointing fingers at everyone but himself…its gonna happen and I can’t wait to see Cryer explode on TV. Can You Dig It!
hey fatrick.
April 14th, 2010
5:33 pm
where have you seen him play fatrick?
phil fulmer
April 14th, 2010
5:35 pm
Peyton Manning has happy feet and it appears that his career has worked ok.
The Ol Bawl Coach
April 14th, 2010
5:42 pm
phat phil, Peyton never beat Florida.
Bill E. Goat
April 14th, 2010
5:46 pm
Patrick and a few others here seem to be delusional enought o think if they type enough BS wishful thinking it will actually happen. Guess that’s what it’s come to for some UGA fans after getting owned by the Gators for the majority of their lifetimes.
kaput
April 14th, 2010
5:55 pm
pi$$er,
Brantley is the quarterback, ure and simple. Trey Burton will likely be the guy running the wildcat and, yes, he is a quarterback keeping the throwing option on the table. The wildcat works so well because of the numbers advantage that it gives the offense. 3rd and 3 is a ‘tweener’ distance, I would imagine that the play that would get called would be based on the defense they were playing as opposed to a need to prove a point by running Burton.
Tebow was obviously a once in a generation type player, but Meyer’s offense worked long before he was on one of his teams. Brantley is a much better passer than Chris Leak, and he won a title with him playing greater than 95% of the snaps.
Sleeping on Florida’s chances will only lead to heartbreak.
I agree that winning at Alabama will be tough, and most likely isn’t going to happen. But LSU is at Florida and hasn’t proven anything lately – and had 11 guys invited to the NFL Combine, they’re not exactly stacked. Georgia is Georgia, which means a talented team that will have a chance – but would you rather take a redshirt freshman or a fourth year junior? FSU? They finished 108th in total defense last season, and lost defensive players . . .
Florida isn’t going to win a national title, and most likely not even the SEC – but they will finish in the top ten, possibly top five.
TampaGator
April 14th, 2010
6:02 pm
Dig it??? I doubt you have ever seen Brantley play anywhere. Brantley abvolutely doesn’t have happen feet (Chris Leak watched him play in the spring game and commented about what great footwork Brantley has on the field)…and one thing he does have is a NFL arm….if you had seen Brantley play, you would know that. He has a powerful arm, in fact. Mallet is the only QB in the SEC that might have a better arm. Wait to you see Brantley throw the slant pass (Zip…Zip!!!) and the the most beautiful long ball you have ever seen (almost perfect every time). Brantley will be an NFL starter some day. He is one of the top 2 or 3 SEC QBs right now. He probably will be the top SEC QB when they had out awards at the end of the season…and his WRs are really outstanding now that Moore and Dobose are back and playing very well. Spring dreams are nice…then fall and November bring a familar reality.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
April 14th, 2010
6:04 pm
New qbs and coaches for a lot of teams this year, going to make the SEC EAST anyone’s game.
TampaGator
April 14th, 2010
6:06 pm
Oh…and wait until your RBs come up the middle and meet a new fella named…Jelani Jenkins…..(r-fresh) at MLB (and the top LB recruit from 2008/09). 4.4 speed, strong as an ox, and he will know the U/G logo right off a black Georgia helment!!!
17 of 20
April 14th, 2010
6:35 pm
I would take John Brantley over anyone who has ever played quarterback at Florida. I can’t wait to tell the bulldogs to go home in Jacksonville.
SEC Fan
April 14th, 2010
6:38 pm
I think Tampa Gator is confusing JJ with Spikes. I guess you won’t miss Charlie Strong either, right?
hop
April 14th, 2010
6:44 pm
the major problem with murray is he is injury-prone both in high school by missing many games his senior year and last year when he experience problems with his arm.
zack is the real deal and he has the ability to play on sunday.
I hope that richt does not make another huge mistake and cause zack to seek another school to show his many skills.joe cox was not the go-to guy that richt said he was.
murray ,also was not very accurate in the recent G-DAY game and overthrow several passes including a horrilbe pass to a wide-open a j green who was wide open.
kaput
April 14th, 2010
6:49 pm
Murray is actually not that big of a guy, not that you need to be necessarily but he’s about 6 foot even. And yes, he does have a history of injuries.
the end of the game
April 14th, 2010
7:05 pm
I couldn’t believe that midget thru another interception at G day.
Gunner Dog
April 14th, 2010
8:00 pm
agree with all here. the schedule is easy this year and richt has great record against ark, s car, auburn, ga tech. just needs fla to have a bad year and they will in 2010. or just quit turning the ball over and beating oursaelves against florida (and everybody else). richt went 8-5 with 117 in penalties, and turnovers. clean that up, and it’s over, 14-0 for many years.
then richt knocks out saban, meyer, (they both quit after 6 years every time–big time quitters–pathological) and spurrier wants to retire at 65 and he’s 65, and goes on a 45 game winning streak to set the new ncaa record.
it’s absolutely going to happen.
BamaBoy.
April 14th, 2010
8:09 pm
Brantley is gonna be a bust.Florida fans keep patting yourself on the back and saying he’s great….he’s not! Average at best. He’ll be spending a lot of time on his back.Florida is in for a long year. To many quality players and coaches have left the program and the true non coaching ability of Meyer will surface early in the season.And please don’t tell me about the great recruting year they had. Five of the players they signed couldn’t even get in school at most SEC schools and most of the others are thugs that will eventually disappoint Florida fans.I’m afraid its going to be a long year in Gainesville.
Bobby
April 14th, 2010
8:12 pm
UGA’s QB situation is going to be a hoot to watch. Somebody will win the job and then there will be 3 unhappy campers on the bench including freshman Parade All American Hutson Mason who by the way is not on the ESPN150 or the Rivals 250. He is the #54 ranked QB by Scout though. When South Carolina beats the Dawgs or whenever the first loss happens the fans will go crazy, if Murray was the starter there will be talk of “maybe Mett was our guy” or “Logan deserved the job because of his experience.” Maybe even “give the freshman “All American” a shot.” Anyway should be fun. Now Richt and co. are working the recruitment phones hard looking for another QB and picking up 3 star defensive players. One of the top defensive players in the state,Ray Drew, is loving the Gators right now and the Dawgs already lost out on big time defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan to the Gators.
Debose
April 14th, 2010
8:46 pm
“meyer, (they both quit after 6 years every time–big time quitters–pathological)”
Okay Urban was going to stay at Utah in a 3rd tier conference and turn down a job in the best conference in the country. It’s called job advancement. He’s done quite well as a Gator, 2 BCS Titles. Richt brought his rings to Athens, he won’t be bringing a coaches trophy though. 4-1 against dem Dawgs
Steve Spurrier
April 14th, 2010
8:47 pm
I don’t know what happens to all that talent when they go to Georgia.
Fatrick
April 14th, 2010
8:58 pm
Bama boy, those are comments that could only be made by crazy Patrick.
Tom
April 14th, 2010
9:07 pm
Logan Gray has no business in the QB conversation. McElroy will lead the Tide again this year.
poopdawg
April 14th, 2010
9:15 pm
Tampa Gator , just keep talking .
Title #14 in 2010!
April 14th, 2010
9:28 pm
The Bama D will eat Brantley alive in the SEC title game, just like Tebow last year. I heard from my people in T-town that this bama D may be better than last year! Title #14, on the way—mark it down!
Gunner Dog
April 14th, 2010
10:17 pm
Beating 1 team like florida/bama/auburn doesn’t appeal to a guy with 2 national championship rings who’s been to 5 National Championships, coached 2 Heisman trophy winners.
Richt is setting his sights to do something greater than helping his team play in 5 national championships. been there, done that. so last deacde.
richt’s gonna do something NOBODY’S ever done—THE LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
Gunner Dog
April 14th, 2010
10:24 pm
Jamelle Holieway took over for Troy Aikman his fresman year, led Ok to the national championship and won it.
kosar also won the natl championship as a freshman qb.
benn done twice.
DAWG07
April 14th, 2010
10:34 pm
Concur fully with UGA QB for 2010. Mobility is also a hugh factor. UGA is not taleted enough to win without mobile QB. Come to think of it not many college teams are.
Gunner Dog
April 14th, 2010
10:35 pm
Brantley would be 5th on the QB roster if he played for UGA.
Gunner Dog
April 14th, 2010
10:37 pm
to win with a freshman qb, you can’t do it passing, too risky, too little experience. you have t win it with a dual threat qb like ok did with jamelle
that’s why it’s gonna be murray and gray this year. maybe mett and mason next year when they mature.
Delusional Dawg
April 14th, 2010
10:54 pm
Geeeezzzzzz…and they call ME delusional! UGA 1 says…”The East will be won by UGA vs UT winner. Not buying the UF hype. They almost lost to a 7-6 UT team last season”. (Of course ignoring the fact that these two teams, UGA and UT, were a combined reg season 14-10. And UF almost lost?? A 10 point win an almost loss? Don’ t ever remember UT even being ahead in that game. And didn’t that same 7-6 team actually demolish the Dawgs themselves?? Made Crompton look alot like that Peyton fellow, at least for that one game).>>>> Digger Dogs says…”I also think that if Richt wins the SEC in 2010 & 2011, Richt will knock out Saban, Spurrier & Meyer…and I am confident, looking at Richt’s history, he will send them all packing”. (Dude, I can’tt even believe I can physically laugh that hard, but thanks for the humor anyway. And yep, I’m looking at Richt’s history right now, 2-7 against Florida. Yep, that should do it, that will chase them all away!).>>>>Ed says… “You forget Grantham SPURNED Nick Saban when Saban BEGGED him to his defensive co-ordinator. Grantham is THE MASTER”. (Yeah, I can really see THAT happening, ‘ol Nick on his knees with a preeeety preeeety please! I’m sure that’s all news to the Nicktator himself)…………..Again,Dawg fans, thank you, you do my name PROUD!