The college football season is heading into week three with some surprises as happens each year. Two most note-worthy are the Miami Hurricanes beat down in week one of the Florida Gators 41-17 in Gainesville, and Cal’s upset of the Auburn Tigers on the Plains in week two.
While week to week things change in the SEC and college football as a whole, what we know now is what we know now. And a few teams appear to have quarterback play that has surprisingly been well below the teams’ expectations heading into the season. With subpar quarterback play of course comes speculation that a quarterback change could be made.
Which SEC teams should consider a quarterback change?
Auburn Tigers
Payton Thorne struggles: Starting quarterback Payton Thorne entered the 2024 with high expectations after head coach Hugh Freeze opted to fire his offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery and assume play-calling duties after a lackluster 2023 not only at the quarterback position, but as a whole on offense for the Tigers.
Thorne is in his fourth season as a starting quarterback and his second with the Tigers. The justification by Freeze in 2023 was that Thorne did not have a full year to get use to the offense and that now with a full year of preparation under his belt for 2024, they would be much better off.
Well, this did not pan out it seems after the Tigers lost to heavy underdog, California Golden Bears at home this past weekend. Thorne threw four interceptions in the contest for an offense that seemed to sputter with him at the controls.
Hank Brown is ready for his chance: The Tigers have redshirt freshman Hank Brown waiting in the wings who has been working his way up the depth chart since arriving in Auburn last year as a true freshman. Freeze had been recruiting Brown back to his days at Liberty when he was the head coach of the Flames, so the relationship between the two is one that was already in place, much like Thorne who he brought in from the transfer portal.
In limited action, Brown has looked the part after going 7 for 9 passing for 132 yards in the Music City Bowl last year after replacing a struggling Thorne. Brown would connect on a 53-yard bomb to Caleb Burton III in the contest.
With an upset non-conference loss to the Golden Bears, it really throws a wrench in Auburn’s record projection if they do not get back on track. And Thorne has seemingly had his chances but fails to produce when the lights come on. I do believe that the time is now, and if the switch is made, Brown will be the quarterback for the Tigers for the foreseeable future.
Texas A&M Aggies
This one is a shocker. Aggies starting quarterback Conner Weigman has not looked great since returning from injury in 2023 in an effort to re-assert himself as the starter in 2024. In a highly anticipated week one matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in College Station, Weigman struggled mightily completing only 12 of his 30 pass attempts, throwing zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
Weigman would throw for only 100 yards in what was suppose to be a big night for the Aggies as head coach Mike Elko’s first game at the helm.
Although Weigman and the offense seemed to bounce back in week two against McNeese State, this is an FCS opponent and not much merit can be given.
The Aggies have options at quarterback: While Marcel Reid seems to be number two on the depth chart, the Aggies also have Jaylen Henderson available as well. Both Reid and Henderson bring a dual threat ability that could serve the Aggies well on a team that needs to find a spark on offense.
With Henderson getting injured in last years Texas Bowl against Oklahoma State early on in the contest, Reid got his opportunity and looked the part which should give Aggie fans promise if a change is considered. He would go 20-for-33 for 361 yards passing in the contest.
Although I put this one on the cooler side of a change actually happening at this point, we will have to wait and see how Weigman does against the Gators in week three and beyond.
Florida Gators
- Returning starting quarterback Graham Mertz had shockingly awful numbers against the Miami Hurricanes in the week one loss. Mertz would go 11-for-20 passing for only 91 yards and an interception. With third year head coach Billy Napier squarely on the hot seat, an offense that struggled to press the gas against a power four opponent should be cause for concern.
Due to Mertz leaving the game with a concussion, that gave way to true freshman sensation DJ Lagway to start week two against FCS opponent Samford with Mertz sidelined. The former five-star product threw for a record-breaking 456 yards against the Bulldogs, which set a school record. That means that Lagway bested previous quarterbacks like Steve Spurrier, Tim Tebow and Danny Wuerfful. Regardless of the opponent, these kinds of numbers are staggering. Lagway’s dual threat ability could make him an electrifying and much needed change for the Gators.
In this instance, I believe if Napier wants any chance of keeping his job and winning back the Florida fan base, a change needs to be made. And this could be his hail mary of sorts in order to do so.
While other names like Brock Vandagriff, Jalen Milroe and LaNorris Sellars have struggled for their respective schools early on, they are not in the same situations as the three mentioned above. So, while worth mentioning for different circumstances, do not expect these three to be considered for being changed out any time soon.
As with any season, we can be assured of at least one quarterback change in the SEC as the season progresses. And as it stands right now, one of the three schools mentioned may make the most sense to do so.