With Sam Leavitt officially taking his talents to Baton Rouge, the SEC quarterback landscape is beginning to come into focus as the transfer portal winds down after one of the wildest cycles the sport has ever seen. This portal period shattered records for both entrants and transfers, and nowhere was that chaos felt more than in Fayetteville.
Arkansas was one of the most portal-reliant programs in the conference, and for good reason. A mid-season coaching change led to a mass exodus of players, and new head coach Ryan Silverfield was forced to rebuild on the fly. Quarterback was always going to be the most scrutinized position in that rebuild, especially after Taylen Green exhausted his eligibilty for the team who's been the starter the last two years.
So where does the Razorbacks’ QB room stand relative to the rest of the SEC as rosters and depth charts begin to take shape?
Arkansas Football QBs : Talent, Youth, and Uncertainty
Arkansas added two quarterbacks via the portal: AJ Hill, a redshirt freshman from Memphis who followed Silverfield to Fayetteville and Braeden Fuller, a multi-year starter at Angelo State making the jump to the Division 1 level.
They join KJ Jackson, a redshirt sophomore who saw limited action last season, and incoming freshman Hank Hendrix, a highly regarded 2027 quarterback recruit who could potentially reclassify to 2026. That possible move adds another layer of intrigue to an already crowded room.
Right now, the Razorbacks clearly fall into the “question mark” tier. That doesn’t mean the situation is bad, just unsettled. Hill is talented but unproven at the college level, Jackson has experience but limited game reps, Fuller has the most starts of the group but none in the SEC, and Hendrix is extremely young with long-term upside. Four quarterbacks, all inexperienced in different ways, and none with a firm grip on the job. It’s a true open competition, and in today’s college football, that’s not necessarily a negative it just adds a lot of intrigue to the room.
SEC Teams That Know Their Guy (Tier 1)
At the top of the conference are programs that already know who will be under center heading into next season:
Texas – Arch Manning
Oklahoma – John Mateer (likely)
Texas A&M – Marcel Reed
Georgia – Gunner Stockton
South Carolina – LaNorris Sellers
LSU – Sam Leavitt
These teams have either established starters or clear frontrunners with little internal debate. This is the SEC’s top tier of quarterback stability.
SEC Teams With Likely Starters, But Not Locked In (Tier 1B)
Just below that group is a tier of quarterbacks who are expected to start, but still face some level of uncertainty or competition:
Auburn – Byrum Brown, transferring from USF to follow coach Alex Golesh.
Ole Miss – Deuce Knight, a young star transfer from Auburn.
Missouri – Austin Simmons, formerly of Ole Miss and was supposed to be the starter until the Chambliss situation happened.
Florida – Aaron Philo, following his offensive coordinator from Georgia Tech.
Kentucky – Kenny Minchey, transferring from Notre Dame to play for new head coach Will Stein.
Mississippi State – Blake Shapen, returning as the likely starter.
These quarterbacks are penciled in and early favorites, but nothing is guaranteed, especially with spring/fall battles and portal surprises still possible.
The True Question Mark Tier
That leaves a small but fascinating group of programs where the quarterback position is truly up for grabs. Tennessee, if Joey Aguilar can’t secure an extra year of eligibility. Vanderbilt, which could start true freshman five-star Jared Curtis but still has veteran options. Alabama, where Ty Simpson’s departure to the NFL sparks a battle between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack. Arkansas, with multiple legitimate candidates and no clear starter.
Despite the uncertainty at several programs, SEC quarterback play appears poised for a rebound. The past few seasons have been uneven, even from highly touted names. This past year alone, players like Garrett Nussmeier, DJ Lagway, Arch Manning, and LaNorris Sellers all had stretches where they struggled to meet sky-high expectations.
But with returning talented players with another year of experience, transfers settling into new systems, and true competitions unfolding across the conference, the arrow is pointing up.
For Arkansas, the questions are real, but so is the upside. In a conference where quarterback stability is becoming more valuable than ever, the Razorbacks may not have answers yet, but they do have options. And sometimes, that’s the best place to start.