The NFL Draft removed several starting quarterbacks from the 16 SEC teams. However, there’s an abundance of talent in the conference set to step up in their place during the 2025 college football season. Who’ll be the Day 1 starting QB for every program?
Alabama Crimson Tide: Ty Simpson
Ty Simpson will step into the shoes of Alabama Crimson Tide greats in 2025 as he laces up his boots as the starter on opening day. The three-year backup has patiently waited his turn, completing 29 passes for 381 yards over that span, but under Kalen DeBoer, it is his time to shine as a redshirt junior.
Arkansas Razorbacks: Taylen Green
Taylen Green returns as the Arkansas Razorbacks’ starter in 2025 after finishing the season ranked fifth in the SEC with 3,154 passing yards. The redshirt senior also added 602 rushing yards and finished the season 39 scrimmage yards shy of Ryan Mallett’s school record of 3795 total offensive yards.
Auburn Tigers: Jackson Arnold
Jackson Arnold ranked 10th in the SEC with a completion percentage of 62.9 in 2024, but not for the same team. Arnold’s career flamed out with the Oklahoma Sooners, and he lands on The Plains through the transfer portal with the Auburn Tigers. Last season, the third-year player passed for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Florida Gators: DJ Lagway
DJ Lagway is one of the brightest young talents in the sport. In seven starts in 2024, the consensus five-star recruit passed for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns, flashing elite playmaking ability and exceptional arm talent. Billy Napier will be relying on Lagway making another jump this season as he looks to secure his future in Gainesville.
Georgia Bulldogs: Gunnar Stockton
2024 bottomed out for the Georgia Bulldogs at the quarterback position with the promise of Carson Beck not materializing.
However, Gunnar Stockton has shown promise, particularly stepping in when Beck went down in the SEC Championship Game, completing 12 of his 16 passes for 71 yards as well as completing 20 of 32 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown in his first career start against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
Kentucky Wildcats: Zach Calzada
Zach Calzada is now on his fourth team, having first joined the Texas A&M Aggies in 2019. The journeyman passer has also had stops at Auburn (2022) and Incarnate Word (2023-24) before ending back in the SEC as a graduate student with the Kentucky Wildcats. The 6’4”, 230-pound quarterback has thrown for 8,707 yards and 73 touchdowns and will look to lead Mark Stoops back to a winning season.
LSU Tigers: Garrett Nussmeier
Garrett Nussmeier is CSN’s 32nd top returning college football player and the 21st-ranked prospect on CSN’s top players for the 2026 NFL Draft. 2024 was a breakout year for the LSU quarterback who led the SEC in pass completions (337) and pass attempts (525), as well as ranking fifth in the nation with 4,039 passing yards, the most of any returning passer.
Nuss to the end zone. It’s a TOUCHDOWN for @iamchrishilton1
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/Z2VJj8s2bj
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) December 31, 2024
Mississippi State Bulldogs: Blake Shapen
Blake Shapen is rated highly by Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby and would have been on for a productive season if it wasn’t for a season-ending injury after four games in 2024. Until that point, the senior quarterback had 974 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and just one interception. Meanwhile, his 68.5% completion percentage would have been good enough for second in the SEC if recorded over the entire season.
Missouri Tigers: Beau Pribula
There is a new name under center for the Missouri Tigers in 2025. Beau Pribula opted to enter the transfer portal during the Penn State Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff run and impressed enough as a dual-threat quarterback to earn an SEC starting job. The Penn State backup threw for 275 yards, five touchdowns in 2024, and rushing for 242 yards and four touchdowns.
Ole Miss Rebels: Austin Simmons
Jaxson Dart became the last Ole Miss Rebels quarterback to be drafted in the Lane Kiffin era, with Austin Simmons the next man up. The four-star recruit has been highly touted in Oxford, as he threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns in brief appearances in nine games during the 2024 season.
Oklahoma Sooners: John Mateer
John Mateer heads to Norman alongside offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle after both served with the Washington State Cougars in 2024. Under Arbuckle’s tutelage, Mateer ranked 22nd in the FBS with 3,139 passing yards and is the No. 37 returning college football player in 2025. Plus, the Oklahoma Sooners have gone all out in the transfer portal to attract more offensive weapons.
South Carolina Gamecocks: LaNorris Sellers
LaNorris Sellers is CSN’s 11th top returning player in 2025 and ranks 12th on CSN’s watchlist of 2026 NFL Draft prospects. The South Carolina Gamecocks’ quarterback is a stud who can equally pick teams apart with his legs or his arm, proven by his 2,534 passing yards and 18 touchdowns in 2024, as well as his 674 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Tennessee Volunteers: Joey Aguilar
After one of the strangest transfer portal swaps we have seen, Joey Aguilar heads to the Tennessee Volunteers from UCLA, while Nico Iamaleava heads in the opposite direction. Is Aguilar ready for the bright lights of the SEC? You bet. The former App State quarterback has thrown over 3,000 yards in two consecutive seasons in the Sun Belt, averaging 273 yards per game in 2024.
Texas A&M Aggies: Marcel Reed
Marcel Reed took over the starting role at Texas A&M during the season, and the playmaker proved to be the best quarterback on the roster. He ranked 1oth in the conference with a completion percentage of 7.8, whilst he also had the 10th most passing touchdowns (15). He now heads into 2025 as the undisputed starter, and the Aggies have loaded up at the receiver position, ready for him to continue his ascension.
Texas Longhorns: Arch Manning
The time that everyone in Austin has been waiting for. It’s Arch Manning season. The sporting public and media have been clamoring to see the latest addition to one of America’s great family dynasties, and Arch proved in brief stints in 2024 that he has the potential to be an NFL prospect.
KEEP READING: Top 100 Players for the 2026 NFL Draft
He threw for 939 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024, adding 108 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Vanderbilt Commodores: Diego Pavia
Diego Pavia is incredibly underrated—a proper football player who plays with his hair on fire. The Vanderbilt Commodores’ quarterback threw for 2,293 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2024, as well as adding a further 801 yards and eight touchdowns with his legs. He ranks as CSN’s 67th top returning player and brings violent physicality and high football IQ to the SEC.
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