The Southeastern Conference just got tougher and deeper.
Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who was kicked off the team in June for legal troubles, will be taking his talents south this fall and joining Houston Nutt’s Ole Miss team for the upcoming season.
Masoli will have to join the team as a walk-on, since the Rebels already have 85 players on scholarship, but the quarterback that led Oregon to a Pac-10 title – and the Rose Bowl berth that came with it – will be battling for the starting position with sophomore Nathan Stanley.
But let’s be real, a quarterback of Masoli’s stature and proven worth is sure to be under center for Ole Miss by the time the season kicks off in September.
If – rather, when Masoli wins the starting job, it means one thing for the SEC.
The conference that is widely argued as the best in the land now has an argument for the best quarterback conference in the NCAA.
That’s saying something, considering the two quarterbacks that were named to the All-SEC preseason first and second teams before last season are now in the NFL – former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and former Ole Miss play-caller Jevan Snead (who many considered a Heisman darkhorse prior to the season).
With Masoli walking on to play at Ole Miss, he instantly becomes the second-best quarterback in the conference this season behind Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett. And that’s without Masoli ever taking a snap for the Rebels.
Last year, while starting 12 games for Oregon, Masoli threw for 2,147 yards and 15 touchdowns while connecting on 58 percent of his passes. He also ran for 668 yards and 13 scores for the Ducks.
The only quarterback in the SEC that dwarfs Masoli’s output is Mallett, who last season threw for 3,627 yards and 30 touchdowns, compared to just seven interceptions, while completing 56 percent of his passes.
But behind those two quarterbacks, the SEC still has plenty of talent.
What does it say about the depth in the conference that arguably the third-best quarterback in the SEC is the one that guided his team to a BCS title last year?
In fact, it’s even hard to put Alabama’s Greg McElroy at third on the SEC’s list, though I give him the slight nod over UF’s new quarterback John Brantley, only because everything we know about Brantley is based on limited game experience and the potential he has.
Brantley is probably more gifted than McElroy, and could end up higher on this list by the time the season is over, but based on what we’ve seen on the field, McElroy (2,508 yards and 17 touchdowns en route to an undefeated 2009 campaign) should be the third-best quarterback in the conference.
Now, add in South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia, new Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and LSU’s Jordan Jefferson.
Garcia showed improvement as a sophomore while throwing for 2.862 yards and 17 touchdowns, but needs to cut down on the mistakes (10 interceptions in 2009) and Newton was Tim Tebow-lite in his limited time at UF before being kicked off the team for stealing a laptop.
With those seven names from 12 teams, it’s evident the SEC has the most depth at quarterback of any conference.
