Meet the four SEC quarterbacks who aren't getting enough hype
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The SEC’s top quarterbacks enjoy single-name recognition.
Any college football fan knows them, but the SEC’s impressive collection of quarterbacks for 2026 goes much deeper than that. Even as the headline stars suck up a lot of the oxygen, we detect a handful of quarterbacks flying below the radar who could be poised for big seasons.
On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams highlight four SEC quarterbacks who are not being talked about enough. Well, allow us to start discussing them, then.
This quartet of overlooked but talented quarterbacks includes three transfers, plus a young quarterback who became his team’s starter toward the end of last season.
The average fan may not yet know them as well as they do Trinidad Chambliss, but how well did you know Chambliss at this time last year?
Four SEC quarterbacks we’re not talking about enough
Byrum Brown, Auburn
Florida can attest to Brown’s abilities. So can Boise State. Brown led South Florida to marquee wins against both teams last season while USF asserted itself as a playoff contender, before dropping off later in the season.
Brown followed coach Alex Golesh from USF to Auburn. He’s got a good grip on Golesh’s up-tempo offense. A dual threat, Brown is a punishing runner. He’d rather run over a defender than slide. He also throws a good deep ball. Auburn’s program drought coincides with a yearslong struggle to fix its quarterback position. In the combo of Brown-Golesh, there’s reason to believe Auburn finally found an answer.
Austin Simmons, Missouri
Here’s what we know about Simmons: Lane Kiffin thought enough of him to anoint him as Mississippi’s starting quarterback last season, and Kiffin’s eye for quarterback talent is more trustworthy than almost anyone. But, Simmons endured some turnover woes in his first two starts. Then, he got hurt, and Chambliss played so spectacularly, Simmons moved into a backup role. Now, he’s set to be Missouri’s QB1.
So, was Kiffin’s initial assessment of Simmons — that he could be an SEC standout — correct? If so, Missouri’s going to love this addition. The sample size is small, but his arm is plenty strong, and his athleticism is sufficient. Simmons must eliminate the turnover bug. Do that, and Missouri will have the start to an exciting offense when Simmons pairs with Ahmad Hardy, one of the nation’s best running backs.
Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
Taylor is a total athlete, a multi-sport performer in high school. Among his prep exploits: high jump. This shouldn’t surprise you if you saw Taylor leap over the line of scrimmage and across the goal line on a scoring, soaring catapult in Mississippi State’s bowl victory against Wake Forest.
He’s got a ways to go to become a polished, accurate passer, but he rushed for 173 yards in the Egg Bowl after becoming the Bulldogs’ starter late in his true freshman season.
Taylor hurt his ankle in the bowl game, but he avoided serious injury. Still, it makes you wonder about his durability, especially if he runs as much as he did last season. And, he’ll need to complete passes at a higher rate. Nonetheless, the raw abilities are apparent in this 19-year-old.
Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
Well, this is different. Most years under Mark Stoops, Kentucky’s quarterback was a prominent reason the Wildcats had a cap on their ceiling. Now, under first-year coach Will Stein, Kentucky’s got something — or, rather, someone — to be excited about at quarterback.
On one hand, Minchey hasn’t played a ton of college ball. On the other hand, Kentucky nabbed from the portal this former Notre Dame blue-chip recruit who contended for the Irish job last year but lost out to CJ Carr. What little we saw of Minchey as Carr’s backup looked good.
Stein, in consecutive years, developed Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore at Oregon. That’s a phenomenal track record. Now, it’s Minchey’s turn.
Later in the episode
∎ The 24-team playoff idea is a trap. Coaches like Tennessee’s Josh Heupel who support such a super-sized playoff might suffer from a misguided sense of what a 24-team playoff would do for job security. (Hint: It wouldn’t help job security.)
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEC QBs who deserve more hype: Start with Byrum Brown, Austin Simmons
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