- Arch Manning is back for another season: The Texas quarterback enters 2026 as a top-three quarterback in the sport.
- Potentially 10 new starters in the conference: The SEC could have 10 new starting quarterbacks in 2026.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
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In today’s day and age of NIL and the transfer portal, it can be hard to track which players are playing for which schools.
At no position is the transfer portal carousel more chaotic than at quarterback. It’s the most important position on the field, with many quarterbacks making millions of dollars per year now. But there’s only one starter, and the spots are limited.
With the portal now closed, we’re going to predict the next quarterback for every Power Four school. Last up in the series is the SEC, which will have as many as 10 new starting quarterbacks among its 16 programs.
Alabama Crimson Tide: Keelon Russell (Backup)
Tuscaloosa is home to college football’s biggest quarterback battle this offseason, with redshirt junior Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell competing for Ty Simpson’s vacated spot. While Mack was the primary backup and has the edge in terms of experience, we’ll give the nod to Russell. He was the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2025 high school class and had a 77.5 PFF grade on 37 snaps.
Arkansas Razorbacks: AJ Hill (Transfer)
Arkansas is also home to a quarterback battle this offseason, with redshirt sophomore KJ Jackson and redshirt freshman AJ Hill competing to replace Taylen Green. While Jackson was Green’s backup in 2025, we’ll project Hill to win the job. The Razorbacks’ new coach, Ryan Silverfield, was Hill’s coach at Memphis last year, and Hill was a top-20 quarterback from the 2025 high school class.
Auburn Tigers: Byrum Brown (Transfer)
Like Arkansas, Auburn has a new head coach in Alex Golesh, and he also brought in a quarterback from his previous spot. Brown was a superstar at USF this past season with a 91.5 PFF grade that was fourth in the FBS, trailing only the Heisman Trophy winner (Fernando Mendoza) and two finalists (Julian Sayin and Diego Pavia). Brown’s 702 rushing yards after contact and 60 forced missed tackles were each third among all quarterbacks in the nation.
Florida Gators: Aaron Philo (Transfer)
The third straight school on this list with a new head coach, Jon Sumrall also added a transfer quarterback — but this time, from a different school than his previous job. Philo will take over in Gainesville after backing up Haynes King the previous two seasons. He owns an elite 91.0 PFF grade across his 183 career snaps.
Georgia Bulldogs: Gunner Stockton (Returning)
Stockton is back for his second year as Georgia’s starting quarterback. The redshirt senior led the Bulldogs to an SEC championship in 2025 and was the seventh-most valuable quarterback in America, according to PFF’s Wins Above Average metric. Stockton’s 81.2% adjusted completion rate was also third in the nation.
Kentucky Wildcats: Kenny Minchey (Transfer)
Will Stein is in his first season as a head coach, and he dipped into the transfer portal to find his first quarterback. Minchey was Notre Dame’s backup quarterback in 2025 and had an impressive 87.5 PFF grade across his 87 snaps. The redshirt junior completed 76.9% of his passes with two big-time throws and no turnover-worthy plays.
LSU Tigers: Sam Leavitt (Transfer)
Leavitt will be Lane Kiffin’s first quarterback at LSU after transferring in from Arizona State. He entered the 2025 season as PFF’s No. 2 quarterback in the country but only appeared in seven games due to a foot injury.
Leavitt’s 87.8 PFF grade over the last two seasons is still seventh among all returning Power Four quarterbacks. He was eighth among all quarterbacks in the nation this year with a 68.0 grade under pressure, and 10th with a 6.9% big-time throw rate. If Kiffin can get him to play a little less hero ball, Leavitt can be a top Heisman contender in 2026.
Mississippi State Bulldogs: Kamario Taylor (Returning)
Taylor now takes over as the full-time starter at Mississippi State after playing 238 snaps as a backup during his true freshman campaign. The former top-10 quarterback recruit started the final two games for the Bulldogs and posted an 84.7 PFF grade last year. That was mostly due to his elite 90.1 PFF rushing grade, which was second in the FBS.
Missouri Tigers: Austin Simmons (Transfer)
Simmons opened the season as Ole Miss’ starter in 2025, but lost his job once he got hurt and Trinidad Chambliss excelled in his place. He’ll try to be an SEC starter once again in 2026 at Missouri, but will need to beat out sophomore Matt Zollers for the job. Simmons sports an 80.0 PFF grade across the last two seasons.
Oklahoma Sooners: John Mateer (Returning)
Mateer is back for his second season as Oklahoma’s starter after quarterbacking the Sooners to the College Football Playoff this past season. He was at one point the Heisman Trophy favorite but then dealt with a hand injury for much of the year. Mateer ultimately posted only a 61.7 PFF passing grade, 121st in the nation.
Ole Miss Rebels: Trinidad Chambliss (Returning)
Chambliss was recently granted a temporary injunction that allows him to play a sixth season of college football. It’s a massive win for both him and Ole Miss, which now returns the quarterback that led the program on a magical run to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The former Division II national champion at Ferris State took the reins of the Rebels’ offense when the original starter, Austin Simmons, went down with an injury in Week 2. Chambliss never looked back, placing second in the Power Four with 3,934 passing yards and fourth in America with 29 big-time throws. He added 585 yards on the ground to rank 15th in the Power Four. Chambliss enters 2026 as a top-five quarterback in the sport.
South Carolina Gamecocks: LaNorris Sellers (Returning)
Sellers was seen as a top candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft entering the season, but is instead returning to South Carolina after yet another inconsistent year. His 70.3% adjusted completion rate was only 115th in the FBS, while his 66.9 PFF passing grade was 88th. Sellers will try to put his elite tools together in 2026 as a redshirt junior.
Tennessee Volunteers: Joey Aguilar (Returning)/George MacIntyre (Backup)
This one requires a bit of context. Incumbent starter Joey Aguilar is currently seeking a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, which would allow him to play in the 2026 season. If he gets it, he’s a top-10 returning quarterback in the sport. Aguilar’s 90.6 PFF passing grade in 2025 was fourth in the FBS behind Julian Sayin, Diego Pavia and Fernando Mendoza.
If Aguilar’s lawsuit is unsuccessful, we’ll project George MacIntyre to win the job. The former top-15 quarterback recruit played in two games as a true freshman as the Volunteers’ third-string quarterback. Expect five-star true freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub to compete for the job as well.
Texas Longhorns: Arch Manning (Returning)
Because Manning began his first year as a starter as the Heisman favorite, many wrote him off when he had a slow start to the 2025 season. But he was terrific during the second half of the year, placing sixth in the FBS with an 89.5 PFF grade since Week 9.
Manning’s 87.3 overall grade on the season was still a top-15 mark in the country. He’s much more of a dual-threat quarterback than either of his uncles were, tying for fifth in the Power Four with 10 rushing touchdowns. Manning enters 2026 as a top-three quarterback in the nation.
Texas A&M Aggies: Marcel Reed (Returning)
While Reed quarterbacked Texas A&M to the College Football Playoff, he still had an inconsistent year as a passer. His 53% accurate pass rate was only 124th in the FBS, while his 64.0 PFF passing grade was 105th. Reed will need to be more regularly accurate in 2026 if the Aggies are going to return to the 12-team field.
Vanderbilt Commodores: Jared Curtis (Freshman)
Diego Pavia left behind massive shoes to fill at Vanderbilt, finishing second in both PFF grade (92.2) and Heisman Trophy voting this past season. But Curtis has the potential to fill that void and then some. He was the No. 2 quarterback from the 2026 high school class and the No. 3 overall recruit. Curtis already has an NFL-ready build at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds and has ridiculous arm talent. He’s the only true freshman expected to immediately start in the Power Four this upcoming season.
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