SEC quarterback rankings: Can anyone top Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young?
Bryce Young is the best quarterback in the SEC going into the 2022 season, according to a poll of sports journalists who cover the league.
The Alabama football starter was a unanimous selection, garnering all 16 first-place votes to head a list of the top 10 SEC quarterbacks determined by those who cover the conference for the USA TODAY Sports Network.
A total of 15 quarterbacks from 13 schools received votes in the poll: Vanderbilt was the only school without a quarterback to get at least one vote. Ten points were awarded for a first-place vote down to one point for a 10th-place vote.
The USA TODAY Sports Network is counting down to SEC Media Days, scheduled for July 18-21 in Atlanta, by revealing its top players at each position grouping.
Here is a look at the top 10 quarterbacks:
1. Bryce Young
Alabama, junior (160 points, 16 first-place votes)
Young has the unique challenge of trying to become the second player to win the Heisman Trophy twice after a 2021 season in which he threw for 4,872 yards, 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
2. Hendon Hooker
Tennessee, senior (127 points)
Hooker had the highest passer rating in the SEC last season, and his 31 TDs to three interceptions marked the best ratio in FBS among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts.
3. Will Levis
Kentucky, senior (111 points)
Levis ranked eighth in the SEC in total offensive yards per game last season and is now widely projected as a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
4. Stetson Bennett
Georgia, senior (93 points)
The former walk-on, fourth in the nation in pass efficiency in 2021, will begin his first season as a UGA starter coming off a national title.
5. KJ Jefferson
Arkansas, junior (88 points)
Jefferson is a veteran mobile quarterback who led the Razorbacks in rushing yards and was fourth in the league in QBR last season.
6. Spencer Rattler
South Carolina, junior (87 points)
The former Oklahoma quarterback, who came to South Carolina in January, was a top-five transfer in the portal after passing for more than 4,500 yards and 40 touchdowns in 25 games with the Sooners.
7. Will Rogers
Mississippi State, junior (78 points)
Rogers finished fourth in the nation and atop the SEC last season with 364.5 passing yards per game.
8. Anthony Richardson
Florida, sophomore (51 points)
Expected to be Florida’s starting quarterback after sharing the role in 2021 with Emory Jones, Richardson is a dynamic dual-threat quarterback with impressive arm strength and breakaway speed in the open field.
9. Jaxson Dart
Ole Miss, sophomore (35 points)
A five-star transfer portal signee from Southern Cal, Dart impressed in limited exposure last year and has some of the finest natural arm talent in college football.
10. Zach Calzada
Auburn, sophomore (20 points)
A 56.3% passer last season, Calzada is already popular at Auburn after leading Texas A&M's upset of Alabama last season.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC football quarterback rankings: Can anyone challenge Bryce Young?
