Arkansas versus the SEC: Quarterbacks

It's an off week for Arkansas football, so it's worth using this midseason break to measure the Hogs against the rest of the SEC in various categories. In this article, we will look at quarterbacks.

KJ Jackson looked like a good quarterback against Tulsa and Vanderbilt. He hasn't maintained that level of form through the rest of the season. The goal for Jackson is to take what he did against Vanderbilt and carry it through the remaining five games. If he can at least come close to that standard, he will walk away from this season knowing he clearly improved as a player and gave Arkansas a chance to be legitimately competitive on a weekly basis in the SEC.

As we attempt to compare Jackson to the rest of the SEC, we are reminded that comparisons can take on different layers and dimensions. For example, KJ Jackson isn't as good as Arch Manning, but whereas Jackson is improving, Manning is regressing. Jackson isn't having an awful season. The expectations for him weren't that high to begin with. Manning, on the other hand, began 2026 with huge expectations and is now in a pool of misery with the Texas Longhorns. Manning might have dreamed of being taken by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft, but that hope has been dashed. Manning will not go into the NFL draft next year. He will play college ball, and it almost certainly won't be in Austin. He is better than KJ Jackson, but he isn't having a better year. This has been a personal disaster for Arch.

There are similar stories to tell elsewhere in the SEC. Quarterbacks who are objectively better and more talented than KJ Jackson are not achieving at the level they hoped to. Sam Leavitt of LSU is one example. Byrum Brown of Auburn is another, though he finally began to play up to expectations at Georgia. Other SEC teams have better quarterbacks than Jackson, but those quarterbacks aren't reaching their respective ceilings, which is part of why the SEC is so fully defined by parity.

Keelon Russell has immense potential at Alabama, but that potential isn't yet being realized. Kamario Taylor started brilliantly for Mississippi State, but an injury has caused his season to come to a crashing halt. Austin Simmons of Missouri can be dazzling at times, but then when Mizzou goes on the road, he can't perform up to standard. LaNorris Sellers can be spectacular for South Carolina, but he is just inconsistent enough to lose winnable games. 

Other SEC teams have highly flawed QB situations. Tennessee and Vanderbilt offer two examples. Texas A&M and Oklahoma might be the two biggest casualties of bad quarterback play in the conference. Florida's QB room has been hit by injuries and inconsistency. 

Georgia, Ole Miss and Kentucky have generally received the level of quarterback play they hoped for, but they represent exceptions, not the norm, in the 2026 SEC. All in all, while no one would say KJ Jackson is in the top half of the SEC's 16 quarterbacks, Jackson has probably come closer to the middle of the pack - instead of falling farther behind - as the season has moved along.