Ranking the SEC's starting QBs: Tagovailoa, Fromm in a tier of their own
With less than two weeks remaining until the start of the season, Auburn ended one mystery by naming true freshman Bo Nix as its starting quarterback on Tuesday.
The Tigers became the 11th team in the SEC to clarify their QB situation. Three schools - Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt - have competitions ongoing.
On the other end of the spectrum, Alabama and Georgia will bank on their respective signal-callers, Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Fromm, delivering a national championship in 2019.
Here, we rank the SEC's starting quarterbacks heading into the new campaign:
14. Vanderbilt - Riley Neal or Deuce Wallace
The Commodores reached a bowl game last season but face a tough task replacing quarterback Kyle Shurmur, who set school records for career yards and touchdowns.
Ball State transfer Riley Neal gives Vanderbilt an experienced option. Neal made 32 career starts at his former program but only averaged 5.7 yards per attempt last year.
The other option appears to be junior Deuce Wallace. The 6-foot-2 passer has yet to start a game and attempted all 22 of his collegiate passes in 2017.
Head coach Derek Mason told reporters Tuesday that he won't announce his starting quarterback before the team opens its season against No. 3 Georgia.
13. Mississippi State - Tommy Stevens or Keytaon Thompson
It's a similar story in Starkville, Miss.: graduate transfer vs. backup.
Head coach Joe Moorhead, entering his second season, added Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens this summer. Moorhead previously served as the Nittany Lions' offensive coordinator, so the two are familiar with each other.
The 6-foot-5 Stevens had an interesting Penn State tenure. While he was the backup QB, Stevens was also used as a rusher and receiver. He comes to Mississippi State with a career stat line of 506 rushing yards, 304 passing yards, and 62 receiving yards.
Keytaon Thompson also impressed as a runner while backing up quarterback Nick Fitzgerald for two seasons. The 6-foot-4 junior has 18 career touchdowns - eight passing, 10 rushing - and started in wins over Louisville in 2017 and Stephen F. Austin last year.
12. Arkansas - Ben Hicks or Nick Starkel
Arkansas enters 2019 looking to snap an 11-game losing streak against conference opponents.
The Razorbacks will likely do it with a transfer at quarterback in Chad Morris' second season at the helm.
SMU transfer Ben Hicks and Texas A&M transfer Nick Starkel lead a competition that remains undecided as the season opener against Portland State approaches.
Hicks started 33 games at SMU. Many came under Morris, who moved from Dallas to Fayetteville, Ark., a year ago.
That's a lot of experience for an Arkansas team that needs better quarterback play. Razorbacks passers threw more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (17) last year.
Starkel, meanwhile, brings SEC experience. He started five games as a freshman in 2017 before settling in as Kellen Mond's backup last year. Starkel has 15 career touchdown passes and six interceptions.
11. Kentucky - Terry Wilson
Terry Wilson started every game for a 10-win Kentucky team last season.
But with bell-cow running back Benny Snell off to the NFL, Wilson will have to step up his production for the Wildcats to see similar results.
The 6-foot-3 junior began his career at Oregon before bouncing to Garden City Community College in Kansas. He won the job in his first year at Kentucky, throwing for 1,889 yards and rushing for 547.
Wilson completed 67.2 percent of his throws last season, ranking third in the SEC. However, he finished 12th in pass attempts. The key will be continued efficiency while taking on a larger load.
10. Auburn - Bo Nix
Nix is the lone true freshman starting quarterback in the SEC this season.
And, he isn't taking over a rebuilding program. Auburn enters the season ranked 16th in the country. Nix will be the first true freshman to start Auburn's season opener under center since 1946, according to 247Sports.
Can he live up to the hype?
The 6-foot-2 Alabama native ranked as the No. 1 dual-threat QB in his class, and his 247Sports Composite rating is the highest of any of the SEC's 14 starting quarterbacks. Nix won consecutive state titles in high school while piling up 161 career touchdowns.
His first collegiate experience will come against No. 11 Oregon at AT&T Stadium.
9. Mississippi - Matt Corral
Matt Corral is another highly regarded recruit, ranking as the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in the 2018 class when he signed with Ole Miss.
The Ventura, Calif., native is the last passer on this list without starting experience, but he did get a taste of college football in his redshirt season.
In four games, Corral completed 16 of 22 passes for 239 yards and ran for 83.
Jordan Ta'amu generated prolific numbers in Ole Miss' offense last year, throwing for 326 yards per game. The 6-foot-1 Corral should be able to do the same, even if attaining a winning record will be an uphill battle in the stacked SEC West. The Rebels play an intriguing season opener at Memphis on Aug. 31.
8. Tennessee - Jarrett Guarantano
A new tier of quarterbacks begins here; one full of players with starting experience and the potential for growth.
In Jarrett Guarantano's case, it wouldn't be surprising to see him placed higher in a re-ranked list at season's end.
As a sophomore in 2018, Guarantano threw for 1,907 yards, 12 touchdowns, and only three interceptions in 246 attempts. He accrued a career-high 328 passing yards in a win over Auburn.
Tennessee should be one of the most improved SEC teams this season. Guarantano, a former four-star recruit, will be a big part of it.
7. LSU - Joe Burrow
After transferring from Ohio State, Joe Burrow took care of the football and guided LSU to a 10-win season last year.
He threw 16 touchdowns to only five interceptions. After four consecutive games without a passing score from October to early November, he finished strong, throwing 10 touchdowns over LSU's final four contests.
That playmaking ability must continue for the Tigers to maintain their No. 6 preseason ranking.
6. Missouri - Kelly Bryant
Missouri faces the tough task of replacing one of its most productive quarterbacks in Drew Lock, who threw for more than 3,000 yards in three consecutive seasons and guided one of the SEC's best passing attacks.
But, Barry Odom's program should be in good hands in 2019 with Clemson transfer Kelly Bryant aboard.
In his lone full season as a starter, Bryant completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,802 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2017. He also ran for 665 yards and another 11 scores. Clemson lost to Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
5. South Carolina - Jake Bentley
With 32 career starts to his name, Jake Bentley has more experience with his current program than any other quarterback in the conference.
He improved from 2017 to 2018, increasing his yards per attempt from 7.1 to 8.2 and his touchdown pass total from 18 to 27.
The 6-foot-4 signal-caller threw for a career-high 510 yards in a loss to Clemson last November.
If there's an area in his game that requires improvement, it's turnovers. Bentley threw 14 interceptions last year.
4. Florida - Feleipe Franks
Another of the conference's highly ranked quarterback recruits, Feleipe Franks began to showcase that promise as a sophomore last season.
The 6-foot-6 QB threw for 2,457 yards and 24 touchdowns to only six interceptions. His development was key to Florida's 10-3 record in Dan Mullen's first season as head coach.
Florida will continue to go as Franks goes in 2019. In wins, he completed 61.8 percent of his throws. In losses, that percentage plummeted to 48.1 percent.
3. Texas A&M - Kellen Mond
Hopes are high in Jimbo Fisher's second season, as Texas A&M ranked 12th in the preseason AP Top 25.
The rest of the poll was a scary sight for the Aggies, who play the teams ranked Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, and 16 this season.
Texas A&M will enter every one of those games with a chance to win behind Kellen Mond.
The 6-foot-3 junior threw for 3,107 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2018, rushing for an additional 474 yards and seven scores. He nearly led the Aggies to an upset of Clemson last September, throwing for 430 yards and three touchdowns.
He'll get another crack at the defending national champions on Sept. 7 when his team visits the Tigers.
2. Georgia - Jake Fromm
While a few places on this list might be fluid, Fromm is firmly entrenched at No. 2.
Fromm only sits behind a quarterback with a national championship to his name, but Georgia's junior starter is the only other passer in the conference to reach that game.
As a sophomore, Fromm threw for 2,749 yards and 30 touchdowns. He ranked second to Tagovailoa in passer rating and completion percentage.
Fromm completed more than 70 percent of his passes in 10 of 13 games last season.
1. Alabama - Tua Tagovailoa
No matter which list you look at, Tagovailoa and Clemson's Trevor Lawrence are considered the top two quarterbacks in college football entering 2019.
Tagovailoa was dominant for much of 2018, completing 69 percent of his passes for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns despite typically earning rest in fourth quarters.
He didn't throw his first interception last season until Nov. 3. He tossed more touchdowns (four) than incomplete passes (three) in the College Football Playoff semifinal win over Oklahoma.
The only question heading into 2019 is if anything will get in Tagovailoa and Alabama's way to a rematch with Clemson in the national championship game.