Who has the edge? With alot of senior QB's from the SEC moving on, who you fellas think will distance themselves from the new crop. I think Croyle, Leak and possibly Russell since he will be pushed to his potential and has some gameday experience now. Clausen and Ainge could get in there too. From what I have seen this past season, I would say 1.Leak 2.Croyle 3.Ainge 4.Russell 5.Shockley
1. Leak 2. Croyle 3. Russell 4. Ainge 5. Shockley I , for one, think Jamarcus is going to have a great year.
I don't see Croyle coming back and just doing that great.....I think he struggles a good bit with their plain-boring offense and their D will have to be as GREAT as they were last year if they plan on winning 8-9 games....something I don't see happening (D-Wise). He is coming off a MAJOR injury and it is not easy to suddenly dominate when you come back. Alabama still is lacking a lot of depth and top-tier talent, IMO. Ainge....played well but can he really vastly improve from what he did last year with such a tough schedule? I doubt it. When I say this...I am referring to those who think he will break out and play unbelievable....he may be good but I don't think he is that great JUST YET. He is still a true sophmore who was middle-of-the-line stat wise at most things. He will now not have the advantage of teams not knowing about him and when he makes mistakes....he wont fall back on the freshman excuse. We will see.... Leak is entering a new offensive system (I have heard Meyer say he doesnt have a system and don't understand what he means....he plays much more open with slot WR's at Bowling Green and Utah)....where he will be hit a LOT MORE. I want to see him succeed when his defense is struggling most of the game....front 4 for UF is weak. I would leave it down to Russell and Shockley for #1. I have called Shockley bad, horrible, and sucky plenty of times but I do think he enters a sweet situation where he can screw up and still be fine. Returns entire OL which vastly improved from '03 to '04....same RB's....and some good WR's even behind Gibson and Brown. With that said, Russell still has the most talent around him and actual experience. 1) Russell 2) Shockley 3) Leak 4) Croyle 5) Ainge.
Isn't Jay Cutler from Vanderbilt returning? If so, I think he probably belongs in that top five just because of his experience. Leak is obviously the top returning SEC QB, but after that it's a mixed bag between a bunch of guys with great potential that haven't yet lived up to the hype (Shockley, Russell) or guys who've shown flashes of brilliance but have been hurt (Croyle, Ainge). It'll especially be interesting to watch what happens at LSU, Tenn., Ole Miss and South Carolina with the QB situations. Which one of the Tigers QBs will emerge as the starter - will Tenn. give Ainge the starting nod over Rick Clausen, who helped keep the SEC title game close and led them to a bowl win - which one of the three QBs will Ed Orgeron choose to be the Rebs leader - and will Syvelle Newton get a chance to play QB in Spurrier's offense? The 2005 season will be a very interesting one in the SEC with nearly all the teams not having a true "set in stone" starter at the quarterback spot. 1. Chris Leak, UF 2. Jay Cutler, Vandy 3. Brodie Croyle, Bama 4. Erik Ainge, Tennessee 5. JaMarcus Russell, LSU 6. Syvelle Newton, USC 7. DJ Shockley, UGA 8. Omarr Conner, State 9. Flatt/Lane/Spurlock, Ole Miss 10. Brandon Cox, Auburn 11. Robert Johnson, Arkansas 12. Kentucky QB
I find it mindboggling looking at this list how poorly the SEC does in recruiting and developing QB's.
totally agree. IMO, he sucks...immobile little punching bag, basically. i also think shockley sucks pretty bad as well. and neither one of those bozo's from tenn (ainge/schaffer) did anything to really impress me. leak is the clear-cut front runner in this category. he's got more game experience and is further developed than any of the other guys mentioned here. i think this year may be a lot tougher on him though, getting smacked around and w/o the threat of a star RB. i think russel can definitely surpass leak this year if he plays his cards right. he's already got great recievers and backs...that's half the battle.
Brodie Croyle definitely doesn't suck. He was a top 5 recruit out of HS, and when not injured, he plays like his potential...Give him a full, injury-less season and he will have a great season.
Danny Wuerffel, Quincy Carter, Peyton Manning, David Green, Eli Manning, Rex Grossman, Rohan Davey, Chris Leak, Craig Nall, Ryan Perrilloux, Tee Martin, JaMarcus Russell, Matt Mauck, Jason Campbell. It's not a GREAT list, but better than people would like SEC fans to believe...
