Ranking the Best Quarterbacks on the Arkansas Schedule

Shocking amount of schools have signal callers who have never played in their system

This was intended to be a story ranking the five best starting quarterbacks on the Arkansas football schedule, but there's a little bit of a problem. 

Between the 12 teams the Razorbacks will face, only four have returning starting quarterbacks who are projected to start. Research on the rest brings forth a lot of "might be the projected starter," "from the transfer portal," or the dreaded two words of doom – "quarterback battle."

One story evaluating the quarterback situation at Missouri read "...In an ideal world - Drinkwitz would like to go into next season with a starting quarterback not currently on the roster."

Not exactly a sentence that encourages faith in the fan base, nor loyalty in the locker room. 

Bo Nix couldn't get out of town fast enough to signal the mass evacuation from a late season dumpster fire in Auburn en route to the West Coast. 

Former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix left as quickly as possible to join the Oregon Ducks that spurred a mass exodus at Auburn to end this past season / Ted McClenning – USA TODAY Sports

Spencer Rattler is looking for an old school Hootie and the Blowfish party in South Carolina, but he hasn't played a snap for Shane Beamer and the last we saw him he was getting booed out of Oklahoma's stadium by his own fans. 

Matt Corral finally made his way out of Oxford after a season as one of the SEC's elder statesmen. Jaxon Dart might be the season starter for Ole Miss after it became clear that wasn't going to happen out at Southern Cal.

LSU and Texas A&M don't know who their quarterbacks will be, but everyone seems to like that there is a room in which to store the candidates. That room probably contains a highly functional portal that will get a lot of use once someone finally gets named.

Cincinnati and Liberty are each going through quarterback battles to see who will have the unenviable task of replacing Luke Ridder and Malik Willis respectively. 

One of those quarterbacks is Charlie Brewer, who, and this isn't sarcasm, is in his sixth season. Most will remember Brewer from his four years as a starter at Baylor, but not so much from his year in Utah. 

That means Brewer was finishing up his senior year at Lake Travis High School while Liberty wide receiver Jalen Brooks was trying to figure out how to change classes in a timely manner in 7th grade.

So now that it's been clearly established that SEC football, plus Cincinnati, is in a state of flux at the quarterback position that will make each of those teams vulnerable to early season upsets, let's rank the four quarterbacks left.

#1

Nelson Chenault/USA TODAY Images

Will Rogers

MISSISSIPPI STATE

If Will Rogers getting the preseason All-SEC nod over KJ Jefferson ruffled feathers in Arkansas, then pitchforks and torches should be expected across sections of Alabama for such blasphemy. 

Crimson Tide fans need to know this isn't a shock value ranking. There's in-depth thought and reasoning behind this.

Last year Rogers put up 4,739 yards while giving up nine interceptions. In comparison, Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young threw for 4,972 yards and seven picks. 

The stats are essentially the same, although Rogers put up those passing yards in two fewer games. If nothing changed individually except for which jersey each player wore, Rogers would have a Heisman instead and Razorback fans would be demanding their defense bring them the head of Young on a platter instead.

However, if the jersey did change, the stats would change, if for no other reason than Young would have two fewer games and Rogers would have two more. 

Since Will Rogers had Mississippi State talent and resources around him as opposed to Alabama talent and resources while still producing the same results, he gets the nod as the better quarterback.

It's not a huge leap to assume that if he were surrounded by stockpiles of 5-star talent at Alabama, Rogers's stats would improve. At the same time, it's safe to assume that if Young were surrounded by Mississippi State talent, his stats would go down. 

Young threw two fewer interceptions, but he was throwing to Alabama receivers which is worth two less picks on its own. Rogers, on the other hand, took five fewer sacks despite playing behind a line that on paper shouldn't have been able to protect him as well.

The biggest deciding factor, which always tells more of a clear story than stats on yards or interceptions, is completion percentage. 

Rogers completed a startling 74% of his passes. While Young's 67% completion percentage is a quality rate, that's a massive difference that must be recognized.

That being said, the margin was still razor thin.

#2

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young sidearms a pass against Georgia in the SEC championship game / Dale Zanine – USA TODAY Sports

Bryce Young

ALABAMA

Being on the list at No. 2 isn't an evaluation of how successful Bryce Young will be on the field. He's still highly talented and has all the offensive ammunition being a member of the Crimson Tide provides.

Unless someone unexpected rises up from the long list of quarterbacks transferring into the SEC, there is little reason to think Young isn't going to be the most successful quarterback in the conference.

Against Arkansas, Young threw for 559 yards and five touchdowns, needing every bit of those stats to avoid an upset at the hands of the Razorbacks.

The one concern is how things went the final four games of the season. For all the success Young had to earn the Heisman Trophy nod through much of the year, it was a rough road to close the season.

Auburn held Young to less than 50% in completion percentage on 51 throws in four overtimes. Georgia held him to 59% the following week in the SEC championship game.

He barely broke the 60% mark the following two weeks in the playoffs while taking 13 sacks and throwing four interceptions in those four games. 

To put it in perspective, Young completed 73.4 percent of his passes while only throwing three interceptions in his previous 11 games. 

Outside of his game against Texas A&M where Young's completion percentage fell to 58% in the loss, the final stretch featured his worst games of the year. 

If Alabama is to make another run to the championship game, Young will need to figure out how to return to his old ways. 

#3

Jason Shelley, of Missouri State, passes the ball during the Bears game against the University of Northern Iowa at Plaster Stadium / Andrew Jansen – USA TODAY Sports

Jason Shelley

MISSOURI STATE

Having had the chance to see Jason Shelley multiple times while he played in high school, there is little doubt that from a young age he developed the ability to completely take over a game at any level once he feels confidence.

Some of that confidence waned at Utah State following a previous stint at Utah, but Bobby Petrino has found a way to bring it back, leading to a season during which Shelley was named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. For those who don't know, that is the equivalent to the Heisman at the FCS level.

Shelley may be the most dangerous quarterback on this list because he is an elite talent who is in danger of being taken lightly by Arkansas defenders because he is at an FCS school. That being said, he reflects his head coach in playing with a chip on his shoulder and a drive to prove his greatness to everyone. 

He had the 13th best passing career in the history of Texas high school football while playing his home games in front of large crowds at Dallas Cowboys facilities. As a redshirt freshman at Utah, he began his college career with 262 yards in the air and 22 on the ground against Oregon and finished the year throwing for 302 against Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl. 

In between, he ran for 61 yards against BYU. 

The biggest struggle for Arkansas is how complete Shelley's game is. Arkansas defenses have traditionally struggled against quarterbacks who can be effective runners. 

In addition to the 9,000 yards he threw in high school, Shelley rushed for over 3,100 yards. That pattern hasn't changed just because Petrino has a propensity for featuring stoic statues in the pocket. 

Last season Shelley threw for 3,342 yards while rushing for 442. When the Bears went to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State, Shelley was a dropped pass from leading Missouri State to an upset comeback in the final three minutes over the Cowboys in a 23-16 loss.

Long story short, the young man has the most overall natural talent of any of the four quarterbacks on this list with the backing of a highly motivated angry genius in Petrino. 

It's unlikely the former Arkansas head coach has done anything that isn't related to figuring out how many ways Shelley can put up 10 touchdowns and 1,000 yards against against the Razorbacks all summer.

#4

Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Jaren Hall (3) celebrates their victory against the Idaho State Bengals with his teammates at LaVell Edwards Stadium / Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Jaren Hall

BYU

The gap between the first three quarterbacks and BYU's Jaren Hall is pretty extensive. 

That doesn't mean Hall isn't capable of throwing for 350 yards while hanging half a hundred against quality teams. He is certainly capable of doing that and has done it.

Hall's shortcoming is he tends to be an emotional player. 

When he's on a high, he can be nearly unstoppable. When he's on a low, it can be tough to watch. 

Perhaps his greatest asset is avoiding negative plays that can turn the momentum of the game.

Hall has a solid arm and is difficult to bait into throwing an interception. He's also not going to take sacks either. 

Because of this, BYU is almost always in the game. It also means Arkansas will need to play with a great deal of patience.

Expect Hall to drive the BYU bus to a game where both teams are in the low 20s or high teens late with the game to be determined by whether one of his five to eight 5-yard runs happens to take him into the end zone.

HOGS FEED:

ACTUAL FOOTBALL TOPIC THAT WILL BE LEAST TALKED ABOUT AT SEC MEDIA DAYS

SABAN WANTING BALANCE FOR ALABAMA, NOT EVERYBODY ELSE

OK STATE'S MIKE GUNDY WOULD BE WORTH PRICE OF ADMISSION INTO SEC

RAZORBACKS LAND ANOTHER COMMITMENT FOR 2023 CLASS

LOOKING AT LINEBACKER COMMITMENT WITH "VIOLENT HANDS"

WHO WILL REPRESENT HOGS AT SEC MEDIA DAYS NEXT WEEK?

PITTMAN DRAWING PRESEASON BUZZ FOR COACH OF THE YEAR

CATCH UP ON MAJOR FOOTBALL STORYLINES BEFORE SEC MEDIA DAYS

GREG SANKEY GETS TALKING POINTS DELIVERED ACROSS THE SEC

BELOVED SEC SHORTS IS BACK, HILARIOUS AS EVER

WHERE ARE HOGS BEING PROJECTED FOR POSSIBLE BOWL PROJECTION?

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