Ranking quarterbacks on 2023 Ole Miss football schedule from KJ Jefferson to Will Rogers
OXFORD — The play of Jaxson Dart, if he does indeed win the starting quarterback job for Ole Miss football, is arguably the single biggest factor that will determine the outcome of the Rebels' season.
But what about the quarterbacks on Ole Miss' schedule? Like with any SEC slate, Pete Golding's first Rebels defense will have to deal with a number of talented passers within the conference. Another gifted quarterback awaits Ole Miss in a tricky nonconference game, too.
Here, we rank the quarterbacks on the Rebels' 2023 schedule, excluding a pair of programs where handicapping who will win the starting job is too difficult.
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
Jefferson is a veteran decision-maker with the arm to make any throw on the field and the strength to bowl over anyone who stands in his path. He takes care of the football and has posted at least 2,600 passing yards and 600 rushing yards in the last two seasons, despite missing time due to injury in 2022.
He's been great against Ole Miss in his career, too, leading an offense that has scored 42 and 51 points in the last two seasons against the Rebels.
The top three quarterbacks on this schedule could all make a case for the top spot, but Jefferson gets the nod.
Jayden Daniels, LSU
Daniels was a standout after making the move from Arizona State for the 2022 campaign, throwing for 2,913 yards and 17 touchdowns to help the Tigers win the SEC West.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Daniels' breakout season was that he rarely turned the ball over, throwing just three interceptions after throwing 10 in his final season with the Sun Devils.
Daniels edges out the next player on our list narrowly because of his dual-threat ability. He ran for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Rogers once again leads the Mississippi State offense in his fourth season under center in Starkville. The system will look a bit different with Zach Arnett transitioning the Bulldogs away from the Air Raid offense.
Maybe that will impact Rogers' numbers to some degree, but it won't impact his talent. It would be difficult to imagine a safer set of hands for the Bulldogs as they undertake this transition.
Rogers has been among the most prolific passers in the SEC for each of the last two seasons, with 8,713 passing yards. He misses out on the top two spots only because he does not offer a threat on the ground.
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Michael Pratt, Tulane
Ole Miss fans should be wary about their Week 2 trip to Tulane, which won the Cotton Bowl last season and is the preseason favorite to win the American. Pratt is one of the primary reasons why.
Pratt threw for over 3,000 yards with 27 touchdowns last season while rushing for 478 yards and 10 TDs. He's been a fundamental piece in Willie Fritz's rejuvenation of a program that had been among college football's worst for decades, and he certainly presents an early-season threat for the Rebels on the road.
Payton Thorne, Auburn
The starting quarterback spot in Auburn isn't exactly nailed down to this point, but Thorne, a transfer from Michigan State, seems to be the presumptive favorite.
Thorne exceeded the 3,000-yard threshold as a first-year starter in 2021 and posted 2,679 yards and 19 touchdowns last season on a bad Spartans teeam. He could be higher on this list had he not thrown double-digit interceptions in each of the last two seasons.
Carson Beck, Georgia
We now arrive at the part of this list where we're forced to sift through some of the inexperienced unknowns. Beck has spent the last three seasons sitting behind Stetson Bennett in Athens, playing sparingly.
He hasn't been given enough meaningful snaps for us to know what he is at this point, but there are few, if any, better situations for a first-year starter to step into across college football. Kirby Smart hasn't given him the official nod as Georgia's starter, but the local media seems to have him nailed on to start Week 1.
Conner Weigman, Texas A&M
There's reason for Texas A&M fans to be excited about Weigman, rated by Rivals and ESPN as the top quarterback in the 2022 recruiting class.
He played five games as a true freshman, and his best performance came in a loss to Ole Miss, when he threw for 338 yards and four touchdowns. He later quarterbacked the Aggies to an upset victory over LSU.
He's a real wild card here. If he can reach his ceiling sooner rather than later, Weigman can be much higher in the end-of-season version of this list.
AJ Swann, Vanderbilt
Swann did not have a prolific 2022 for the Commodores, passing for 1,274 yards in nine appearances. But he did limit his mistakes with just two interceptions, and that's significant for what is easily the most challenging quarterback job in the SEC.
Jiya Wright, Louisiana-Monroe
The favorite to quarterback Terry Bowden's Warhawks is Jiya Wright, who has been on rosters at Fort Scott Community College, Division II Florida Tech and Northern Illinois.
He hasn't played much for ULM since arriving, and is a real unknown here.
Carter Peevy, Mercer
Mercer's quarterback situation is blurry after the graduation of last year's starter Fred Payton, but Carter Peevy seems most likely to inherit the job.
He started for the Bears in 2020 and threw for 1,318 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
Unknown: Alabama, Georgia Tech
We don't yet know who will be playing quarterback for Alabama next season, with the Crimson Tide embroiled in a three-way QB competition between Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner. The winner of that battle should find a place in the top half of this list.
Similarly, Georgia Tech has not yet landed on a starter, with Zach Pyron and Zach Gibson fighting it out with Texas A&M transfer Haynes King.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss football schedule QBs ranked: KJ Jefferson to Will Rogers
