College football analyst Josh Pate rolled out his preseason SEC quarterback rankings, and the top spot went to Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, with Texas quarterback Arch Manning coming in at No. 2.
Pate’s segment came with a built-in wink. He labeled it the "DJ Lagway Memorial Preseason QB Rankings," a self-directed jab at his own track record.
Last year, he had then-Florida quarterback DJ Lagway atop his preseason SEC QB list, and that call didn’t age well. Lagway is now at Baylor.
Chambliss has one résumé line that separates him from everyone else on the list: he has already won a national championship. He did it at Division II Ferris State in 2024, when he produced five touchdowns in a 49-14 title-game win over Valdosta State.
Division II isn’t the SEC, but none of the other quarterbacks ranked here has anything close to that on his résumé.
Chambliss then arrived at Ole Miss in Week 3 after an injury to Austin Simmons and ended up with nearly 4,500 yards and 30 total touchdowns last season. Pate had plenty of praise for him, saying, "He's the most dangerous player in college football," Pate said.
After Chambliss and Manning, Pate placed Oklahoma’s John Mateer at No. 3 and Georgia’s Gunner Stockton at No. 4.
Stockton has the numbers to make a strong case: 2,894 passing yards, 24 touchdown passes, five interceptions, plus 462 rushing yards and 10 scores. He also finished seventh in Heisman voting.
The concern with Stockton is the lack of clarity around the rest of Georgia’s offensive weapons.
Mateer’s season at Oklahoma was less clean. He had hand surgery last September and never got back to his early form, finishing with 2,885 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The turnovers stood out, and his play started to tilt toward hero ball as he tried to carry too much of the load. Even so, he rebuilt his throwing motion this offseason, which leaves plenty of room for his best football to show up in Norman.
LSU’s Sam Leavitt is next at No. 5, and Pate sees room for him to rise. Leavitt missed spring practice after foot surgery, and his last fully healthy season came in 2024 at Arizona State, when his rise came fast and hard.
Alabama’s quarterback situation lands at No. 6, with Pate saying, "I am a believer that Keelon Russell will ultimately win this job," Pate said. The piece notes that Austin Mack could still take it, though, and points out that Mack spent the season behind Ty Simpson and directed Alabama’s only scoring drive in the Rose Bowl.
South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers checks in at No. 7.
He brings the biggest ceiling and the lowest floor on the list, after throwing for 2,437 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season. New offensive coordinator Kendal Briles should lighten the load on him.
Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed comes in at No. 8, and Pate said that decision wasn’t easy. "I had the hardest time with Marcel Reed," he said. Reed, from Nashville, threw for 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Auburn’s Byrum Brown is ninth. At 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, he fits the kind of frame that turns heads immediately. He threw for 3,158 yards and ran for 1,008 more at South Florida last year, and coach Alex Golesh followed him to Auburn.
Missouri’s Simmons rounds out the list, though the source notes a different name would be preferred there: Mississippi State sophomore Kamario Taylor. Taylor started both the Egg Bowl and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl as a freshman.
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