The SEC, college football's best conference over the last several seasons, has run into a problem at the most prominent position in the last few years.
Gone are the days of legendary SEC quarterbacks like Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel and Cam Newton, each of whom dominated the competition on the way to the Heisman Trophy. Even with the trio of AJ McCarron, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger, we had three players talented enough to lead top programs while becoming NFL backups.
Now, we have the less storied names of Jalen Hurts, Jarrett Stidham and Jacob Eason under center (well, in the shotgun) for the conference's premier programs. With Josh Dobbs and Chad Kelly having moved on to the NFL, who's the most experienced quarterback in the SEC?
That title would go to Missouri's Drew Lock, who holds a 6-14 record as a starter during his time with the Tigers. Granted, he hasn't had much help around him, but that record is far from impressive. Alabama has Hurts, who was part of a phenomenal offense in 2016 and may be the highest-regarded quarterback in the conference despite clear flaws.
With Hurts and the highly-recruited Stidham, the SEC West has some serviceable signal-callers, including the underrated Austin Allen and Nick Fitzgerald. It's the East where things get shaky, featuring open competitions at Tennessee and Florida in addition to three starters with losing records.
So who's left?
Georgia's Jacob Eason and South Carolina's Jake Bentley, who had very different true freshman campaigns in 2016. Eason was pegged as the savior of the Georgia program from day one, earning the starting job over Brice Ramsey and impressing in his first three outings of the season. It was an up-and-down campaign for the highly-touted Eason, who would eclipse 220 yards just three more times for the season. Gamecock fans may remember his atrocious performance in Columbia last season, where Eason completed just five of his 17 attempts for 29 yards (and Georgia somehow won), prompting Will Muschamp's comment that the Bulldogs probably threw the ball "17 times too many."
Bentley didn't play in that loss to Georgia, sitting out for the final time in 2016 before Muschamp pulled the trigger, starting the freshman who was supposed to be finishing up his senior year of high school. Bentley shined immediately, leading South Carolina to three straight wins over UMass, Tennessee and Missouri, though he certainly struggled in losses to Florida and Clemson.
Regardless, Bentley got the Gamecocks into a bowl game (the ultimate goal of the 2016 season), earning him and his teammates extra weeks of practice, which paid off during the trip to Birmingham. Bentley set a Birmingham Bowl record with 390 passing yards while mounting a comeback to force overtime, even though South Carolina was unable to seal the come-from-behind victory.
Now receiving praise from Eli Manning for his work at the Manning Passing Academy, Bentley is poised to be the dark horse quarterback in the SEC this season, a season where no one has emerged as the clear top dog.
It's too early to make a case for Bentley as the best quarterback in the SEC, with Allen coming off a 3,400-yard campaign and Hurts having just missed out on a national title, but why can't he be the best in the East? With good weapons and an experienced offensive line, Bentley could be ready for a breakout season, and his division rivals should be on notice.