Ranking the SEC’s 16 Projected Starting Quarterbacks for the 2026 Season

With most of the top-rated players in the transfer portal signed or committed to new teams, we have an idea of who the 16 starting SEC quarterbacks will be next season.

That leads to the obvious next question, who’s the best of those 16?

Here’s how this writer sees those rankings sort out, based on previous experience and a little bit of forecasting for next season:

1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
2. Arch Manning, Texas
3. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
4. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
5. Byrum Brown, Auburn
6. Sam Leavitt, LSU
7. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
8. John Mateer, Oklahoma
9. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
10. Austin Simmons, Missouri
11. KJ Jackson, Arkansas
12. George MacIntyre, Tennessee
13. Keelon Russell, Alabama
14. Aaron Philo, Florida
15. Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
16. Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt

This, of course, assumes Chambliss obtains another year of eligibility either through his NCAA appeal or lawsuit against the NCAA. Should he fail at that, Deuce Knight would land somewhere in the middle of the pack.

There are clear tiers to the list above, too.

The top four are in the highest tier. All have shown elite-level talent and won big games. Chambliss, though, would be considered the best of the best.

Chambliss emerged as a key piece of Ole Miss’ offense during the 2025 season, providing consistent production and physicality out of the backfield. His breakout year featured several impact performances that helped stabilize the Rebels’ offense and solidify his role as one of the team’s most reliable contributors.

It’s already been stated in this space that if Chambliss returns in 2026, he’ll be a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. Even more so than Manning, who will likely have another offseason of hype leading into the 2026 season.

Further down the list we have quarterbacks who are either great players in new places (Brown, Leavitt) or players who flashed greatness with their current teams (Reed, Mateer, Taylor).

Taylor at Mississippi State is an example of a young quarterback who doesn’t have much experience. Or lese they’d likely be a lot higher on the list. Rusell at Alabama is another one.

The bottom portion of the list are players with little to no experience at the college level. Curtis was the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2026 signing class, but would still be a true freshman next season. He might be special, but the track record for true freshman starting their first season at quarterback isn’t great.

Overall, the SEC has no shortage of great quarterbacks. It’ll need those quarterbacks to be at their best if the conference wants end its longest national championship drought since the early 2000s.