Quinn Ewers vs Carson Beck in Saturday’s SEC Championship game between No. 2 Texas and No. 6 Georgia will mark the matchup of quarterbacks who have seen their stock plummet the most this season.
Ewers, hailed by many as perhaps the preeminent signal caller in the nation entering the campaign, may not even make it through Saturday’s game in favor of talented freshman Arch Manning. The nephew of Payton and Eli Manning is hailed by many as the next great collegiate quarterback.
ESPN’s August mock draft had Ewers going first overall and Beck following suit with the eighth selection. In CBSSPorts’s most recent mock draft, neither was chosen in the first round.
In Mel Kiper Jr’s most recent big board for ESPN, Beck rated as the fourth-best quarterback while Ewers slid all the way to sixth. Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders, Miami’s Cam Ward, and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe topped the list.
Ewers missed a few games with injury, but Texas is 11-1 and he hasn’t been abjectly terrible. He’s thrown for 2,307 yards while completing 67.3% of his passes for a 24-7 touchdown-interception ratio.
His quarterback rating has dropped only slightly down to 152 this year after posting a 158.6 mark last year. Manning’s at 184 on the year, but that figure is boosted by his performances against non-conference opponents earlier in the campaign.
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum was particularly bullish of the Texas freshman when previewing the SEC Championship this week. He was asked how quickly coach Steve Sarkisian should turn to Manning in Saturday’s clash.
I would do it very quickly,” he admitted. “Ewers is banged up and remember a couple of months ago he came back from a [similar] situation and struggled against Georgia? They lost that game.”
“Arch Manning is one of the best players in the country that we just havent seen very much of, so I wouldnt wait. Its a critical game because if Texas loses this, they have to sit around and wait on the CFP. And you never want to depend on a thirteen-person committee to decide your fate.
Beck has thrown for 3,429 yards this season and completed 65.1% of his passes. His quarterback rating has dropped from 167.9 to 147.0 for the 10-2 Bulldogs.
He played well last week in a narrow overtime victory over Georgia Tech, completing 28 of 43 passing for 297 yards and five touchdowns.
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