SEC QB Power Rankings: Where does Texas land with Arch Manning as QB1?
The long-rumored changing of the guard has finally come to pass. Quinn Ewers announced his decision to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft on Wednesday morning, meaning that the starting quarterback job at Texas officially, at long last, belongs to Arch Manning.
This is the day that many Texas fans have spent two full years waiting for. Arch arrived in Austin with as much hype as any recruit in recent memory, but he's sat patiently as Steve Sarkisian stuck with Ewers through all of his ups and downs. He wasn't going to wait for a third year, and so Ewers read the writing on the wall, opting to try his luck in the pros rather than seek a hefty NIL bag elsewhere.
Which means that, after years of speculation, we finally get to find out just what all the fuss is about. Ewers never quite reached the heights expected of him, but his career at Texas probably isn't as appreciated as it should be; he did help guide the team to within a few yards of the national title game in two consecutive seasons, after all. The bar for Manning will be even higher, which begs the question: Just how good is he? Will Texas take a step back or a step forward at QB in 2025? And just where does Arch's ascension place them among their SEC rivals?
16. Missouri: Beau Pribula/Sam Horn
Brady Cook is moving on, and in his place, Eli Drinkwitz brought in Pribula, last seen doing spot duty for Drew Allar at Penn State this past season. Pribula is a good athlete, but he's still pretty raw as a passer, while the depth behind him (Horn and Drew Pyne, entering what must be his 16th college season) doesn't inspire confidence.
15. Kentucky: Zach Calzada
This will be Calzada's second go-round in the SEC; you may remember him from Texas A&M's memorable upset of Alabama way back in 2021. After washing out of College Station, he landed at Incarnate Word, where he's spent most of the past two seasons piloting a potent Cardinals offense. That said, it remains to be seen how Calzada's game will translate back up to the Power 4.
14. Mississippi State: Blake Shapen
Shapen might be a little underrated at this point; he flashed real potential over three years at Baylor, and he seemed to be blossoming in Jeff Lebby's offense before a season-ending injury short-circuited things. Lebby convinced him to stick around for one more ride, and while the Bulldogs have to remake a receiving corps that was decimated by the portal, there's a lot of arm talent here.
13. Auburn: Jackson Arnold
Maybe this is overly harsh for a guy who was a consensus five-star recruit not too long ago. But Arnold was disastrously bad at Oklahoma in 2024, and while scheme and a lack of weapons around him may have something to do with that, we have precious little evidence that he can operate from the pocket. Hugh Freeze added depth behind him in fellow transfer Ashton Daniels and five-star freshman Deuce Knight, but this seems like Arnold's job to lose for now. If so, he has a lot to prove.
12. Alabama: Austin Mack/Ty Simpson
Alabama reportedly sniffed around Carson Beck before he landed at Miami, a potential sign that Kalen DeBoer doesn't love the idea of heading into camp with what he currently has in his QB room. Simpson is a Saban holdover, and five-star freshman Keelon Russell looks the part, but Mack seems to be the heir apparent. A top recruit who followed DeBoer from Washington to Tuscaloosa last winter, his pedigree and DeBoer's track record should have Bama fans at least cautiously optimistic.
11. Georgia: Gunner Stockton
You could make an argument for Stockton ranking at least a spot or two higher on this list after he managed to at least keep his head above water in the SEC title game against Texas and the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame. He can move around pretty well, and arm strength certainly isn't an issue. But he's still pretty raw as a passer, and it's unclear whether he can elevate what looks to be a pretty mediocre receiver room for the Dawgs.
10. Arkansas: Taylen Green
How you feel about Green likely depends on which day you catch him; one Saturday he can look like the next coming of Lamar Jackson, the next he can look borderline unplayable. The athleticism is off the charts, but the in-the-pocket stuff still needs a lot of work, even allowing for the fact that Arkansas' offensive line was dreadful this season. Still, the ceiling here puts him above most of the unknown quantities and the afterthoughts on this list.
9. Ole Miss: Austin Simmons
Maybe this is way too much, way too soon; maybe I'm projecting an irresponsible amount on to that one drive against Georgia last season. But there's reason to believe in Simmons: A three-star recruit out of high school, he nevertheless beat out prized LSU transfer Walker Howard for the right to back up Jaxson Dart in 2024, and there's a reason that the usually aggressive Lane Kiffin didn't try all that hard to find a replacement in the portal. I'm intrigued, at least enough to put him above the QBs with more obvious warts.
8. Texas A&M: Marcel Reed
Reed looked to be the Second Coming while leading the Aggies to a comeback win over LSU, and he was certainly good enough to play Conner Weigman out of College Station. But he tailed off a bit toward the end of the year, and I still have some questions about how his game will translate once the rest of the conference has tape on him — and whether he has the frame to hold up under the strain of Collin Klein's run-heavy offense. He has the ability to make this ranking look awfully low, though.
7. Tennessee: Nico Iamaleava
If you want to argue that Reed should be flip-flopped with Nico, I won't argue the point too much. But I just can't quit Iamaleava, who seemingly has all the tools necessary to take off in Josh Heupel's offense. If he can learn to harness the the howitzer on his right arm, the sky is the limit; and for all the grief he took in 2024, he still managed to lead his team to a College Football Playoff berth despite a banged-up receiving corps. I still believe.
6. Vanderbilt: Diego Pavia
Now we jump up a tier, starting with Pavia, who will probably use this ranking as yet more grist for the mill as he gets ready for one more ride at Vandy. He's never going to be the biggest or the fastest or the one with the strongest arm, but he will always be the grittiest, and he knows hoe to use his toughness, moxie and mobility to move the ball down the field and rack up wins. No one's been able to figure him out yet, and that doesn't figure to change any time soon.
5. Texas: Arch Manning
I flipped Pavia and Manning back and forth for a while, before eventually all the hype wore me down. Granted, we still haven't seen all that much of Arch in game action, but what we have seen is promising, a guy with much more size and speed than you'd think who can make all the throws despite still having some work to do as a passer. He lit up UTSA, UL-Monroe and Mississippi State while Ewers was injured this year, and while that's not exactly a murderer's row, he was one of the most sought-after recruits in recent memory for a reason. WIth Sark in his ear, he should be ticketed for stardom.
That said, there's no substitute for experience, and it's hard to bump Arch too much higher than this before we see him do it week in and week out in the SEC.
4. Oklahoma: John Mateer
Mateer also doesn't have much SEC experience, but running roughshod over just about everybody on Washington State's schedule in 2024 has to count for something. Think of him as a souped-up version of Pavia: He's not the most polished passer, but he combines the size of a linebacker with the speed of a running back in the open field, and he's as tough as they come. I can't wait to watch Mateer attempt to hurdle half of Texas' defense next season, and his proven dynamism has him just above Manning for now.
3. LSU: Garrett Nussmeier
Nuss surprised a lot of people when he opted (or was paid a whole lot of money) to return to LSU for one more year in 2025. He might be the best NFL prospect on this list not named Manning, but he left a bit to be desired this past season, putting the ball into harm's way far more often than you'd like for a guy billed as a polished pocket passer. (Granted, that big arm also generates lots of explosive plays.) Nussmeier is a gunslinger's gunslinger; I just need to see a little more consistency before I fully buy in, especially considering that he doesn't have the same dual-threat ability that the two guys above him have.
2. South Carolina: LaNorris Sellers
I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here; despite how sensational he looked down the stretch of the 2024 season, Sellers is still young, and he still has a way's to go as a passer. But the physical gifts are just undeniable, dripping athleticism from a 6-foot-3, 242-pound frame, and hardly anyone could slow him down over South Carolina's final few games (Illinois notwithstanding). Sellers might have the single highest ceiling on this list, Arch included, and he appears ready for takeoff in 2025.
1. Florida: DJ Lagway
Come on, man.
Lagway may have singlehandedly salvaged the Billy Napier era at Florida, leading the Gators to four straight wins to close the season and dashing Ole Miss' CFP hopes while he was at it. Oh, and he did it all in his first year on campus, while nursing a hamstring injury that greatly inhibited his ability to threaten defenses as a runner. (Don't be fooled by his paltry rushing numbers in 2024; the man is an athlete.) Lagway has a cannon — he ranked fourth in the SEC in passes of 40+ yards despite not playing a full season — and he seemed right at home on the biggest stage from day one. There will be some bumps along the road, but if you're asking me to build around one SEC quarterback in 2025, I'm taking Lagway.