Alabama Football: 5 Best SEC Quarterbacks not named Jalen Hurts

Alabama football returns the 2016 SEC Offensive Player of the Year in Jalen Hurts. All the other SEC QB’s are chasing Jalen. What 5 QB’s have the best chance to catch him?

Alabama football has the luxury of a settled quarterback situation. Jalen Hurts is the undisputed offensive leader of the SEC’s most talented and arguably best team. Alabama football has so many weapons, the Tide can be successful without Jalen Hurts repeating as the Offensive Player of the Year. Hurts does not have to be the best passer or the best running quarterback. He just needs to be the best leader.

The best way to measure quarterback success is by wins. Next is who best moves the chains when it most matters.

Alabama football has won in multiple eras with good but not great athletes at quarterback: Pat Trammell, Steve Sloan, Jay Barker, Greg McElroy and  A.J. McCarron to name a few. What those guys shared with more gifted athletes like Namath and Jake Coker was an exceptional ability as leaders.

Jalen Hurts is a gifted athlete. So were Kenny Stabler and Blake Sims, two Alabama football greats who failed to win a national championship. At the end of Jalen Hurts’ Alabama football career, he will be measured by the toughest possible standard – did he lead Alabama to a national championship.

In the next few pages, we will consider the best of the rest of 2017 SEC quarterbacks. Some of them, perhaps all of them have a chance to earn 2017 All-SEC First team distinction. That is a worthy honor.  But not the same or as lofty as being the leader of the SEC’s best team.

Our guess is Jalen Hurts is willing to forego any post-season awards in trade for a ring, well two rings to be exact.

Before moving to the top five other QB’s, let’s give honorable mention to two guys just outside the top six: Drew Lock of Missouri and Jake Bentley of South Carolina.