SEC Football: Ranking the Top 10 quarterbacks entering 2023 season
By Matt Melton
A conference that is loaded with talent at the quarterback position, here is a ranking of the Top 10 quarterbacks entering the 2023 SEC football season, a list that includes multiple returning multi-year starters.
Ranking the Top 10 SEC Football quarterbacks entering 2023 season
Before we get to the Top 10 however, here are a few honorable mentions that certainly should be mentioned as well:
HM. Payton Thorne – Auburn Tigers
2022 Stats: 62.5 CMP%, 2,679 yards, 19:11 TD:INT, 60 carries, 42 yards, 1 TD across 12 games
A new quarterback to the SEC, Thorne transferred to Auburn during the offseason from Michigan State of the Big Ten, where he holds career marks of a 61 CMP% with 6,493 passing yards and a 49:24 TD:INT ratio, while also having rushed for 270 yards and six touchdowns on 167 attempts. Thorne, a two-year starter with the Spartans, is competing with returning starter Robby Ashford for the Tigers starting job, and should he win that competition, could be set for a solid year under new Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze.
HM. Spencer Sanders – Ole Miss Rebels
2022 Stats: 57.6 CMP%, 2,642 yards, 17:9 TD:INT, 107 carries, 391 yards, 8 TD across 10 games
Another new quarterback to SEC football, Sanders transferred to Ole Miss this offseason after he was a four-year starter in the Big 12 at Oklahoma State. Holding career marks of a 61 CMP% with 9,553 passing yards and a 67:40 TD:INT ratio, while also having rushed for 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns on 493 attempts, Sanders is competing for the Rebels starting job this fall, and is likely to be one of the SEC’s most experienced backup quarterbacks at-the-least.
HM. Conner Weigman – Texas A&M Aggies
2022 Stats: 55.3 CMP%, 896 yards, 8:0 TD:INT, 27 carries, 97 yards across 5 games
Weigman, a former five-star prospect from the 2022 class, enters his second season at Texas A&M likely cemented as the Aggies’ starting quarterback. The former five-star completed 55.3% of passes for 896 yards and an 8:0 TD:INT ratio, while also rushing for 97 yards on 27 attempts, in limited action a year ago, and could be set for a breakout 2023 campaign under new Texas A&M offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
HM. AJ Swann – Vanderbilt Commodores
2022 Stats: 58.1 CMP%, 1,274 yards, 10:2 TD:INT across 9 games
Also entering his second season in the SEC is Swann, who is cemented as Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback entering 2023. Swann would complete 58.1% of passes for 1,274 yards and a 10:2 TD:INT ratio a year ago, and could be set for another solid season in Nashville at the helm of the Commodores offense.
HM. Graham Mertz – Florida Gators
2022 Stats: 57.3 CMP%, 2,136 yards, 19:10 TD:INT, 50 carries, -40 yards, 2 TD across 12 games
The final honorable mention is also a new quarterback to SEC football, as Mertz transferred to Florida during the offseason from Wisconsin of the Big Ten, where he had career marks of a 59.5 CMP% with 5,405 passing yards and a 38:26 TD:INT ratio across four seasons, along with having rushed for eight touchdowns. Mertz is competing for the Gators starting job this fall with the returning Jack Miller III.
So, let’s get to the list. Here are the Top 10 quarterbacks entering the 2023 SEC football season, starting with No. 10.