Crain & Cone rank the top 10 quarterbacks in the SEC

Spring practice being over in college football means we are inching closer to talking season. It might always be talking season in the SEC, where discussion around the league never stops. Especially when it comes to quarterbacks. A lot of familiar faces return to their respective schools entering the 2026 season.

Crain & Cone decided to put together their top 10 current SEC quarterbacks. Six of them are considered returning starters, while another three enter the conference via the NCAA transfer portal. One spent most of 2025 as the backup before getting playing time down the stretch.

Without further ado, let’s check out the full list here. We begin in the Sip, where legal action was needed to determine eligibility.

1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss

Taking the top spot for Crain & Cone is Chambliss. Ole Miss receiving the news of Chambliss’ return changed the entire outlook of their season. Not just from an eligibility standpoint, but also keeping him out of the NCAA transfer portal.

Pete Golding now has a quarterback he can trust back there despite some coaching turnover. Chambliss looks to pick things up where they left off, continuing to fly in Oxford.

2. Gunner Stockton, Georgia

Stockton proved a lot of doubters wrong by becoming one of the league’s top quarterbacks. Georgia saw the offense thrive with Stockton under center, winning them another SEC title.

The goal is to keep the train moving in the right direction. Stockton is a threat with both his arm and legs, even if some new faces at the skill position are set to emerge. High praise from Crain & Cone.

3. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

An important fall is ahead for Sellers, who enters his redshirt junior season. Sellers has been on NFL Draft people’s minds for quite some time due to his physical nature. Everyone is just waiting for the production to come through.

South Carolina feels as if they have upgraded the talent surrounding their quarterback. Hopefully, Sellers can get back to playing at the level of a top-three quarterback in the SEC.

4. Sam Leavitt, LSU

Lane Kiffin feels as if Sam Leavitt is the right guy for Year One in Baton Rouge. Leavitt was highly sought after out of the NCAA transfer portal after a great career at Arizona State. Now, he dons the purple and gold.

Injury concerns are present for Leavitt, who missed time during the 2025 season. Kiffin remains positive when providing updates, believing Leavitt will be out there for fall practice.

5. Arch Manning, Texas

Arguably the SEC’s most-discussed quarterback, Manning checks in at No. 5. We saw what kind of hype Manning produced entering his first year starting, only to start a little slower. He picked things up by the end of the schedule and looked to be rounding into form.

Big tests will come right away for Manning, once again. Texas hosts Ohio State in Week 2, the exact matchup where Manning’s early struggles got showcased.

6. John Mateer, Oklahoma

Moving to the other side of the Red River, Mateer faces a big offseason. Another guy where expectations were high in ’25, performances were not met down the stretch. Oklahoma still found a way to get results as a team, leaning on one of college football’s top defenses.

Mateer dealt with an in-season thumb injury after getting surgery. OU hopes health is there throughout the campaign and turns into another College Football Playoff appearance.

7. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M

At one point, Reed looked like a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. A poor performance vs. South Carolina tanked those chances, before not playing well in the finale vs. Texas either. Reed checks in at No. 7 as a result.

This is about the future, though. Reed is entering his third year as the Texas A&M starter. The Aggies do have a new offensive coordinator in Holmon Wiggins, who was promoted from within.

8. Byrum Brown, Auburn

Most first-year head coaches are dealing with a new quarterback, which makes Alex Golesh‘s situation at Auburn an interesting one. Brown might be new on the Plains but he is quite familiar with Golesh.

Brown produced in a big way while at USF. Other power conference programs would love to have him on the roster. However, exactly how Brown performs vs. the SEC might be the biggest question.

9. Austin Simmons, Missouri

Eli Drinkwitz decided to go down a different route this offseason when it came to his starting quarterback. Simmons was named the guy a whole lot easier than Beau Pribuila a year ago. Drinkwitz wanted Missouri to have time to rally around Simmons.

It’s easy to forget that Ole Miss initially trotted Simmons out there. If not for an injury, he might have kept the job throughout 2025 under Kiffin.

10. KaMario Taylor, Mississippi State

Taylor came to Starkville as a prized recruit. He projects to be one of the more dynamic quarterbacks in the SEC, proving as such in the final two games of the season when Jeff Lebby named him the starter. While Mississippi State did not win either one, the promise certainly flashed.

Lebby will get to work with Taylor for a full offseason with the mindset of being the starter. Both as a passer and runner, the Bulldogs will rely on their new QB1.