SEC QB rankings entering 2026 season: Arch Manning, Trinidad Chambliss begin at the top
Returning starters lead the way, but several incoming QB transfers add intrigue to the SEC
As the SEC gears up for the 2026 season, the quarterback landscape is unusually unsettled. Fewer than half of the league's teams -- just six, to be exact -- return their starter from last year, leaving a host of open jobs and spring battles to watch. Some programs have clear leaders ready to pick up where they left off, while others are leaning on transfers or previously untested talent to take over.
Those battles could shape the SEC narrative long before the season opener. Alabama's decision between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack is arguably the most consequential quarterback contest in college football, while Tennessee will hand the keys to either George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon or Colorado transfer Ryan Staub after Joey Aguilar's eligibility bid fell through.
Across the SEC, as many as six starting jobs could be filled by quarterbacks who moved in this recent transfer portal cycle, with the rest of the openings potentially going to non-transfers. That number could still shift depending on who wins the competitions at Arkansas and Florida -- a factor that forced projecting these battles to finalize the rankings.
Experience creates a clear divide in these rankings. The top half is made up of proven quarterbacks with one, if not multiple, years of starting experience. Below them lies a group of intriguing unknowns -- talented, high-ceiling players with unproven resumes, raw tools or simply limited game experience.
Projection is unavoidable in these assessments -- one thing is certain: by next January, this order will almost certainly look very different.
Early SEC QB rankings entering 2026 season
1. Arch Manning, Texas
The initial hype may have been overblown, but it shouldn't be forgotten that Manning was one of the country's best quarterbacks over the final six weeks of the regular season. He accounted for 16 offensive touchdowns -- second-most among Power Four quarterbacks -- while committing just two turnovers during that stretch. With Cam Coleman added, Texas boasts one of the deepest receiver rooms in the country. Manning's athleticism is often overlooked; he's the most physically gifted of the Hall of Fame lineage.
2. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
Chambliss getting another year of eligibility wasn't just a win for Ole Miss; it was a win for college football. Those who didn't pay close attention during the regular season quickly found out during the CFP run what they were missing when his highlight-reel plays nearly carried the Rebels to the national championship game. It's still hard to believe Chambliss was playing at Division II Ferris State just two years ago. Now the intrigue shifts to what comes next without Lane Kiffin orchestrating the offense in Oxford.
3. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
Only one quarterback on this list has won an SEC championship, let alone played in Atlanta for the conference title. Yes, that's Gunner Stockton. The biggest question surrounding Georgia's second-year starter is whether he can lift the offense back to national championship form. He ranked eighth among qualified Power Four quarterbacks -- and second in the SEC -- in completion rate on throws of at least 15 air yards (69.7%), per TruMedia, but just 41st in how often he attempted them (19.4%). Now he'll be doing it with a reshuffled cast: Georgia lost five of its top six pass catchers and is counting on former Georgia Tech standout Isiah Canion to emerge as Stockton's go-to target.
4. Sam Leavitt, LSU
Leavitt was the top-rated transfer in this portal cycle for a reason. Even though his 2025 season ended with an injury after seven starts, the résumé is proven. He led Arizona State to a Big 12 championship in 2024 and plays with the kind of moxie Lane Kiffin covets in his quarterback. It's why he wasn't going to lose the bidding war for a leader wired for his system. The fit is obvious -- and dangerous.
5. Byrum Brown, Auburn
Auburn is desperate for stability at quarterback after a revolving door of transfers and inconsistent play during the Hugh Freeze era. While Brown acts as a one-year transitional piece for new coach Alex Golesh, the familiarity with the system and terminology from their time together at South Florida should make the adjustment seamless. He's one of only 11 players in FBS history with at least 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season and has averaged 2.74 total touchdowns per game over the past three years, 10th-most among quarterbacks with at least 12 starts in that span, per TruMedia.
6. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
The ceiling is still there with Sellers. The question is whether South Carolina can finally build something stable around him. South Carolina's constant coordinator turnover hasn't helped, and his numbers reflected it last season: 2,437 yards passing, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 60.8% of his throws. The bigger drop came on the ground, where his rushing output dipped to 270 yards and five scores. Now Kendal Briles takes over, charged with reviving the dual-threat spark that made Sellers one of the SEC's most intriguing young talents two seasons ago.
7. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Reed's first full season as the Texas A&M starter was a tale of two schedules. Against five Power Four opponents that finished with winning records -- including Notre Dame -- he accounted for just eight offensive touchdowns with eight turnovers, posting a modest 0.15 EPA per play, per TruMedia. In the final two games, both losses, he had four turnovers and no touchdowns. Against everyone else, Reed looked like a breakout star: 23 total touchdowns, only five giveaways and a 0.32 EPA per play. With a tougher slate looming in 2026, the question is which version Texas A&M will get when it matters most.
8. John Mateer, Oklahoma
For the first time since 2023, Oklahoma enters a season with its starting quarterback returning. Mateer's first year in Norman was uneven, and a late-September thumb injury that required surgery clearly altered his trajectory. After a strong start, he completed less than 60% of his passes over the final eight games as the Sooners' offense lost its explosiveness. Still, the flashes were there, especially late in the year when he began to look more comfortable pushing the ball downfield. Now fully healthy and back in Ben Arbuckle's system for another season, Mateer has little excuse not to deliver.
9. Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
New Kentucky coach Will Stein swooped in and flipped Minchey from Nebraska in a move that instantly upgraded the offense for 2026. Minchey nearly beat current Heisman Trophy favorite CJ Carr for the starting job at Notre Dame last season, and his skill set makes him one of the best transfer fits in this cycle -- especially given Stein's track record of developing quarterbacks during his time at Oregon. Still, with zero career starts and just 29 passes in three seasons, completed at 79.3% for 212 yards, Minchey is largely unproven in game action.
10. Keelon Russell, Alabama
The most important quarterback battle in college football heading into 2026 will unfold at Alabama. Fourth-year junior Austin Mack is fighting to hold off Russell, the former five-star and No. 2 quarterback in the 2025 class, in a decision that could shape not just the Crimson Tide's season but Kalen DeBoer's trajectory in Tuscaloosa. Russell brings the highest upside in the room after throwing for more than 10,000 yards and 127 total touchdowns while compiling a 42-2 record as a high school starter. The tools are obvious. But the pressure is, too.
11. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
Mississippi State eased Taylor into action during his true freshman season before giving him starts in the final two games. While there was certainly rawness to his passing, his elite athleticism was impossible to ignore, particularly on the ground. Taylor led the Bulldogs with eight rushing touchdowns, totaling 458 yards at 5.6 yards per carry, and his speed and power make him a constant threat to flip a game with a run or scramble. The challenge now is translating that explosiveness into consistency through the air, where he completed 55.8% of his throws for 629 yards and five touchdowns with one interception.
12. Austin Simmons, Missouri
Simmons was supposed to be the answer at Ole Miss before an ankle injury in Week 2 cleared the path for Trinidad Chambliss to take over the starting role. Now Simmons gets a fresh start at Missouri and a real opportunity to finally lead an offense on his own terms. The sample size is small -- just two starts across 17 career appearances -- and the numbers are modest: 59.8% completion rate, 1,026 yards passing, six touchdowns and five interceptions. Not exactly a ratio that quiets doubters.
13. Aaron Philo, Florida
The starting job was open at Georgia Tech, but the bigger opportunity was in Gainesville, where Philo chose to follow offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to Florida. Familiarity with the system gives him a head start in the upcoming competition with returning backup Tramell Jones Jr., but it won't erase the challenge left by DJ Lagway's departure as Jon Sumrall establishes his vision for the program. Philo's game experience is limited -- he completed 57.8% of his 102 career passes for 938 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in eight appearances.
14. George MacIntyre, Tennessee
Joey Aguilar's failed bid for an extra year of eligibility cleared the way for Tennessee to turn the keys over to the battle between MacIntyre, a redshirt freshman, five-star freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub. While Brandon is an elite talent coming off a senior-season injury, and Staub has the only college starts of the group, MacIntyre is likely the most ready to step in immediately as the Week 1 starter.
15. KJ Jackson, Arkansas
Another SEC quarterback competition looms in Fayetteville as new coach Ryan Silverfield takes over at Arkansas. Jackson returns as the most experienced option, but he only made one start last season. He'll face a serious challenge from Memphis transfer AJ Hill, a former four-star prospect who redshirted last season and appeared in just two games.
16. Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt
The expectation is that Curtis will be the Day 1 starter at Vanderbilt after it flipped the five-star quarterback from Georgia to keep the hometown prospect in Nashville. While he's following in the footsteps of Diego Pavia, stepping in as a true freshman in the SEC is no small task. The ceiling is high, and while growing pains are inevitable, it's hard to imagine him finishing the season at the bottom of these rankings.
