Power ranking Kentucky's opposing quarterbacks in 2024 (2024)

Quarterback(s): Jayden Johannsen, Joe Humphreys or Isaac McNamee

Opponent: Murray State

Game Date: Nov. 16 at Kroger Field

Analysis:New Murray State head coach Jody Wright will hold a quarterback competition during fall camp withSouth Dakota School of Mines transferJayden Johannsen, Miami [Ohio] transfer and Owensboro nativeJoe Humphreys and redshirt freshmanIsaac McNameefromPikeville, Kentucky, all in the mix.

Johannsen has the most college experience on the roster as the DII transfer completed65 percent of his passes last season at South Dakota School of Mines going for2,543 yards and 29 touchdowns and was a three-timeRocky Mountain Athletic Conference second-team All-Conference selection (2021-23).

Humphreys did not play in any games during his time at Miami [Ohio] or Murray State last year, while McNamee has just one career start to his name, which came for the Racers in 2022 which came against Ball State in which he completed 7-of-22 passes for 57 yards.

Regardless of who wins the job, there will be very little DI experience from Murray State's starting quarterback when the Racers visit Lexington for a late season test against a Wildcat defense expected to be among the best in the SEC.

Quarterback: Parker Navarro

Opponent:Ohio

Game Date:Sept. 21 at Kroger Field

Analysis:Graduate senior ParkerNavarro will likely be Ohio head coachTim Albin's starting quarterback this fall.

Navarro, a Tempe, Arizona native, started his college career at UCF, where in 2021, he played in five games in which he attempted just two catches but ran seven times for 54 yards.

He transferred to Ohio ahead of the 2022 season and appeared in just two games completing five passes for 43 yards but in 2023 he played in six games for the Bobcats and made one start.

On the year, he completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns on just one interception while he ran 25 times for 178 yards.

His lone start on the year came in Ohio'sMyrtle Beach Bowl victory over Georgia Southern, the performance saw him complete 11-of-16 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 71 yards on 15 attempts.

Navarro has limited starting experience, but his mobility could cause a Kentucky defense that has struggled with mobile quarterbacks in recent seasons trouble.

Quarterback: LaNorris Sellers

Opponent:South Carolina

Game Date:Sept. 7 at Kroger Field

Analysis: LaNorris Sellers, a mobile redshirt freshman who head coach Shane Beamer has already named his starting quarterback, will make just his second career and first-ever SEC start when the Gameco*cks travel to Lexington Week 2.

Sellers, a former three-star prospect, did not play during his redshirt season of 2022, but last season appeared in three games in which he completed all four of his passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 51 yards and a touchdown on five attempts.

In the Gameco*cks 17-14 win over Kentucky, he ran twice for nine yards.

While Sellers is expected to have a strong first season as the Gameco*cks starting quarterback, it is rare for signal callers to excel in their SEC debuts, thus expect Kentucky to catch the young quarterback before he begins to come into his own.

Quarterback: Tate Rodemaker

Opponent:Southern Mississippi

Game Date:Aug. 31 at Kroger Field

Analysis:Tate Rodemaker,a transfer from Florida State who started the Seminoles road win over Florida last season will be the Golden Eagles starting quarterback this fall.

As a redshirt junior, Rodemaker has plenty of experience. He appeared in four games for FSU in 2020, three in 2021 and seven in 2022 before seeing the most playing time of his career last season.

Serving as Florida State's No. 2 quarterback, he played in nine games in which he completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 510 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions.

After starting quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury, Rodemaker took over as the Seminoles starting quarterback for its regular season finale at Florida.

Looking to lead Florida State to a win to preserve an undefeated regular season, Rodemaker completed 12-of-25 passes for 134 yards in a 24-15 win; however, he suffered a concussion that forced him to miss the ACC Championship Game against Louisville and after FSU was not selected for the College Football Playoff despite a 13-0 season, he opted to enter the transfer portal before the Orange Bowl against Georgia and landed at Southern Miss.

Rodemaker only has one career start to his name but with a handful of snaps under his belt with an elite Florida State program and having already won a game at an SEC venue, hewon't be rattled when his Golden Eagles visit Lexington Week 1.

Quarterback: Tyler Shough

Opponent:Louisville

Game Date:Nov. 30 at Kroger Field

Analysis:Tyler Shough will spend his seventh and final season of College Football as Jeff Brohm's starting quarterback at Louisville this fall.

Shough, a 6-foot-5 graduate student started his college career at Oregon in 2018 and played in three games as a redshirt freshman and in 2019 appeared in five games as a reserve behindJustin Herbert completing 12-of-15 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns.

In 2020, Shough served as Oregon's starting quarterback during a COVID-shortened season in which the Ducks finished 4-3. He started all seven games and, on the year, completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,559 yards and 13 touchdowns on six interceptions while rushing for 271 yards and two scores.

After the season, he hit the transfer portal and landed at Texas Tech, where he opened the season as the Red Raiders starter, but four games into the season suffered a season-endingbroken collar bone injury.

Before going down, he completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 872 yards, six touchdowns on three interceptions. He returned as the Red Raiders starter in 2022 but suffered a shoulder injury against Murray State in Week 1.

He returned to finish the year, having played in seven games and making five starts. In those five starts, he completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 1,304 yards, seven touchdowns on four interceptions. The Red Raiders went 5-0.

In 2023, he once again opened the season as Texas Tech's starting quarterback, but the injury bug struck again as he was limited to just four games after suffering a season-ending leg injury. Before the injury, he completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 746 yards with seven touchdowns on four interceptions.

Shough has been an effective quarterback when healthy but with no signs of being durable, it's hard to be too afraid of the veteran signal caller.

Quarterback: Diego Pavia

Opponent:Vanderbilt

Game Date:Oct. 12 at Kroger Field

Analysis:After a rough spring from Utah transfer Nate Johnson, sources around the Vanderbilt program believe New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia will be the Commodores' starting quarterback this fall.

Pavia started his college career at the JUCO level at theNew Mexico Military Institute where in 2021 he led the program to aNJCAA National Championship.

He transferred to NMSU ahead of the 2022 season and wound up starting eight games. In those games, he completed 53.2 percent of his passes for 1,450 yards with 13 touchdowns on six interceptions while adding 508 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Pavia was named the MVP of the Aggies Quick Lane Bowl win over Bowling Green after completing 58.6 percent of his passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 65 yards.

In 2023 he started all 15 games for the Aggies and led the program to a 10-5 season which included a trip to the Conference USA Championship Game andNew Mexico Bowl.

On the year, he completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,973 yards with 26 touchdowns on nine interceptions while adding 923 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

His brightest moment came in Week 12 at Auburn, when he led NMSU to a stunning 31-10 road win atJordan-Hare Stadium. He completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns, adding 35 yards on the ground.

Pavia comes into the SEC having won an SEC road game, leading a team to a 10-win season and with familiarity on the coaching staff as his head coach from NMSU, Jerry Kill is now at Vanderbilt as as chief consultant to the head coach and senior offensive advisor and his offensive coordinator Tim Beck took the same position with the Commodores over the offseason.

Quarterback: Payton Thorne

Opponent:Auburn

Game Date:Oct. 26 at Kroger Field

Analysis:Payton Thorne enters his final season of eligibility as one of the SEC's most experienced starters.

The 6-foot-2 quarterback started his college career at Michigan State, where he was the Spartans' starting quarterback in 2021 and 2022.

In 2021 he led the Spartans to an 11-2 season capped off with a Peach Bowl victory over Pittsburgh.On the year he completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 3,232 yards with 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while rushing for 181 yards and four scores.

The 2022 season was a completely different story for Thorne and the Spartans, who went just 5-7. Thorne completed 62.5 percent of his passes on the year, with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while rushing for 42 yards.

Following the season, Thorne hit the transfer portal and landed at Auburn where he served as the Tigers starting quarterback last season in Hugh Freeze's debut season as head coach.

He led the Tigers to a 6-7 season in which he completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 1,755 yards and 16 touchdowns on 10 interceptions.Thorne had his best year rushing as he ran for a career-high 515 yards, the 10th most in a single season by an Auburn quarterback.

His experience and ability as a runner make him a formidable SEC starter that Kentucky will have to deal with in the middle of the season under the Kroger Field lights.

Quarterback: Graham Mertz

Opponent:Florida

Game Date:Oct. 19 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Analysis:After an up-and-down three seasons as Wisconsin's starting quarterback,Graham Mertzwas stellar in his debut season with the Gators in 2023.

In 11 starts before missing the final week of the season with acollarbone fracture, Mertz completed an outstanding 72.9 percent of his passes for 2,903 yard and 20 touchdowns on just three interceptions while adding four scores on the ground.

While Kentucky defeated Mertz and Florida soundly at Kroger Field, he completed 83.3 percent of his passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns against the Cats and had several other strong performances on the year, including a 423-yard passing day with three touchdowns in a road win at South Carolina and a 311-yard passing day in a loss at LSU.

Mertz will enter his final season of college football and second at Florida with a full understanding of the Gator offense and the confidence of having performed at a high level in the SEC.

Quarterback:Nico Iamaleava

Opponent:Tennessee

Game Date:Nov. 2 at Neyland Stadium

Analysis:The time has come for 2023 five-star prospect Nico Iamaleava to take the reigns as Tennessee's starting quarterback.

Iamaleava is viewed as the perfect quarterback for head coach Josh Heupel's high-tempo offense.

As a true freshman last season, he played in five games and completed 62.2 percent of his passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

He made his first career start in Tennessee's 35-0 Citrus Bowl win over Iowa.

Taking on a Hawkeye defense that finished the year as the seventh-best in America in his first career start,Iamaleava completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 151 yards and a touchdown and added 27 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

With Kentucky's matchup with Tennessee coming in November,Iamaleava, who arguably has the highest upside of any quarterback in the SEC entering the 2024 season, will be fully settled, making him a tough assignment for the Wildcats, who have struggled mightily to slow down the Volunteers sinceHeupel took over as the program's head coach in 2021.

Quarterback: Quinn Ewers

Opponent:Texas

Game Date:Nov. 23 at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium

Analysis:Former five-star prospect Quinn Ewers enters his third year as Texas' starting quarterback. He is coming off a magical 2023 season in which he led the Longhorns to a Big 12 Championship in the program's final year before departing for the SEC and their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.

Despite missing two games with a shoulder injury, Ewers earned second-team All-Big 12 honors by completing 69.0 percent of his passes for 3,479 yards with 22 touchdowns on six interceptions.

He was stellar in Texas' Big 12 Championship Game win over Oklahoma State, throwing for 452 yards with four touchdowns, but in the Sugar Bowl against Washington, he completed just 55.8 percent of his passes, as the Huskies earned a 37-31 win to advance to the National Championship Game.

Ewers is projected to be a first—or second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft but will be facing pressure all year to lead Texas back to the College Football Playoff and to fend off five-star redshirt freshman Arch Manning, the nephew of both Peyton and Eli Manning, who is ready to take over the reins as the Longhorns' starting quarterback.

Kentucky will not make the trip to Austin until Week 12, so by then, the jury on Ewers' performance will likely be out.

Quarterback: Jaxson Dart

Opponent:Ole Miss

Game Date:Sept. 28 at Vaught Hemingway Stadium

Analysis:After an up-and-down debut season in Oxford of 2022, Dart was stellar in 2023 for the Rebels running Lane Kiffin's tempo-heavy offense.

Dart led the Rebels to an 11-2 win which included a Peach Bowl victory over Penn State by completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 3,364 yards and 23 touchdowns on just five interceptions while adding 389 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.

The rising senior threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns in a home win over LSU, threw for 387 yards and a score in a home win over Texas A&M, and threw for 379 yards and two scores in the Rebel's Peach Bowl victory over Penn State as part of his stellar junior season.

Dart's start against Kentucky when UK visits Oxford Week 5 will be the second of his college career, as in 2022, he led the Rebels to a 22-19 win over the Cats by throwing for 213 yards and adding 40 yards on the ground.

While yet projected a top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Dart may be the SEC's most underrated quarterback entering the 2024 season as he'll bring a 18-7 record as the Rebels starting signal caller into the season.

Quarterback: Carson Beck

Opponent:Georgia

Game Date:Sept. 14 at Kroger Field

Analysis:Not only does Georgia once again enter the season as National Championship favorites, they likely enter the year with the country's best quarterback.

Carson Beck, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft had a stellar debut season as Georgia's starting quarterback last fall as he led the Bulldogs to a 13-1 season by completing an outstanding 72.4 percent of his passes for 3,941 yards with 24 touchdowns on just six interceptions while adding 116 yards and four scores on the ground.

His best game of the year came against Kentucky in Athens. He led Georgia to a 51-13 win by completing 80.0 percent of his passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns.

Other notbale performances from Beck included completing 67.9 percent of his passes for 315 yards and two scores in a win over Florida and completing 72.0 percent of his passes for 306 yards and two scores in a win over Ole Miss.

Beck and the Bulldogs will come to Lexington Week 3, where he'll face Brock Vandagriff, his backup quarterback from a season ago.