Alabama Football: Ranking best SEC Quarterbacks for ’22
By Ronald Evans
The SEC will be a strong quarterback league in 2022, led by the Alabama Football Heisman winner, Bryce Young. After Young, 11 other SEC quarterbacks are ranked below.
SEC quarterbacks from Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are not included because the competition for those starting jobs does not have a clear leader. Lane Kiffin could go with USC transfer Jaxson Dart or Luke Altmyer. Vanderbilt may not have a true No. 1, with Clark Lea rotating Ken Seals and Mike Wright.
The QB situation will also be fluid in Baton Rouge. Brian Kelly will have a true competition for the starting job between the returning Myles Brennan, the unproven Garrett Nussmeir and incoming 5-Star, Walker Howard. In this ranking, an assumption is made that Kelly will opt for experience (at least early in the season) and start Brennan.
The format below ranks the starting quarterbacks of 12 SEC teams (excluding Ole Miss and Vanderbilt). In reverse order, it works down to Bryce Young at No. 1.
As a point of comparison to the other 11 QBs, let’s begin by reviewing Bryce Young’s stats during the Alabama Football, 2021 season.
Alabama Football QB leads the way
After attempting just 22 passes as a freshman, Bryce Young threw 547 passes in 2021. He completed 366 for a 66.9 percent completion rate. Young passed for 4,872 yards with 47 touchdown tosses and only seven interceptions. His Passing Efficiency Rating (PER) was 167.5.
Ranking 2022 SEC Quarterbacks
No. 12 – Brady Cook – Missouri Tigers
Cook played in only five games in 2021 as a redshirt freshman. He completed 78.9 percent of his 57 pass attempts for 341 yards and two touchdowns. His PER was 140.8.
No. 11 – Zach Calzada – Auburn Tigers
Auburn fans want to believe Calzada is ‘the’ Crimson Tide slayer. Playing behind an Auburn offensive line will not be the same as being protected by Aggies. Other than his strong performance against Alabama, Calzada did little to impress.
As a sophomore in 2021, Calzada completed 56.3 percent of his 327 passes, for 2,185 yards and 17 touchdowns against nine interceptions. His PER was 124.