Texas A&M fans know that so much rides on Marcel Reed for this upcoming season as the Aggies’ most important player for 2026. There have been a lot of positive signals for his development going into the fall, as well, which have been encouraging for Aggie fans.
Of course, there’s been a lot more positive attention on the passer 90 miles to the west, mostly thanks to the name on the back of his jersey (as well as the front, in all honesty). Just like last year, there’s been quite the rush to overrate Arch Manning, especially relative to Reed, among the college football watching public— a rush that is completely unjustified by the actual tape.
An objective breakdown shows that Manning, though, is not the top passer in the conference— in fact, he’s not even in the top five. Let’s break down the top five quarterbacks in the SEC and see where things stand.
Ranking top 5 SEC quarterbacks heading into 2026: Passer talent abounds in SEC
5. LaNorris Sellers
Sellers had a terrible year in 2025, it’s true. It was quite the lackluster follow up to what had been an amazing run in 2024, where Sellers looked like he was Superman more than one time during the season— not least of which was against Texas A&M in that fateful night game in Williams Brice.
With a new playcaller in the fold in Kendal Briles, Sellers’ true potential could be unleashed. He did just lose two starting receivers, but if Briles is able to unlock his rushing potential to the level of what we saw back in 2024 (or maybe even beyond), we could see the South Carolina signal caller leap back to the top of more than one draft board.
4. Gunner Stockton
The Georgia signal-caller is one of the more underappreciated quarterbacks in the conference, but make no mistake: he is a real gamer. Stockton has a penchant for some big-time throws and is unafraid to put his body on the line when it comes time for him to run the ball.
Are there some rough edges to his game? Yes, absolutely. But there are nearly no quarterbacks in the sport of whom that would not be true— and Stockton has a better record than the vast majority of them. Don’t be surprised to see him up near the top of the league in QBR as the season wears on.
3. Marcel Reed
While too many remember the bad from the close of last season, Reed’s high-level moments from 2025 have not been as often discussed. Reed is second in returning quarterbacks in pass yards per game in the conference— something that flies directly in the face of the narrative painting him as a more of an athlete than a quarterback.
Then, you add in things like the clutch drive to win the game against Notre Dame, or how he’s torn up a vaunted Blake Baker LSU defense two years in a row with his dangerous athleticism, and you being to see the real picture of Reed the quarterback— and there’s quite a bit of chatter about how he’s improved over this offseason. If he cuts down on turnovers and learns to take some of the easier throws when they’re there, he could rise to the top of this list by season’s end.
2. John Mateer
It was hard to decide between Mateer and Reed in many ways, but I gave the OU QB the slight edge due to some of the drop-in-a-bucket touch throws he’s put on film. Like Reed, Mateer is a threat with his legs and sometimes gets himself into trouble with his daring decision-making, but there are clear differences as well.
Mateer may have the best tackle in college football guarding his blind side in Michael Fasusi, but the performance of the rest of his supporting cast will go a long way towards deciding how the season goes for the Sooners. It will be more than just al title bit interesting to see where Mateer falls by season’s end.
1. Trinidad Chambliss
The clear and obvious number one here is the Ferris State transfer, Trinidad Chambliss. Though I’m sure Lane Kiffin would have loved to have Chambliss join him down in Baton Rouge, the Ole Miss quarterback stayed put in Oxford and will definitely have a chip on his shoulder in that week three matchup.
It’s not just Chambliss’s dangerous athleticism that gets him the nod as the top passer in the conference, it’s his accuracy down the field. If he wasn’t able to make every throw on the field, then teams may have a little better shot of stopping him— unfortunately for them, he’s just that skilled.
Add us as a preferred source on Google