The year of the veteran QB in the SEC
It is the year of the veteran quarterback in the Southeastern Conference.
Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Fromm are the headliners, but the league is loaded with experienced passers with double- digit starts under their belts at their current school or elsewhere.
The SEC has eight returning starters at quarterback and could have as many as five graduate transfers leading offenses.
The teams are hoping that’s a recipe for success in a league that hasn’t produced a first- round pick at quarterback since Johnny Manziel
Notebook
in 2014.
“I think it’s unique that you would have five graduate transfer quarterbacks possibly starting in our conference, and it’s also a really good year for the quarterback in the SEC,” said Kirby Smart, Fromm’s coach at Georgia.
“It seems in my experience having been in the SEC for a lot of years, I don’t know that there’s been a year where there’s been so many quarterbacks that have the experience they have.”
Tennessee
Former Volunteers offensive lineman Nathan Niehaus said injuries caused him to decide to end his football career. Niehaus tweeted that “due to sustained injuries and the wear on my body, I have decided to retire from the game that has taken me places that I never could have imagined.”
Oregon
Justin Herbert is in fall camp for a final season with the Ducks, looking to continue the team’s upward trajectory since his freshman season. The Ducks’ growth is one of the reasons Herbert returned for a senior season. Oregon has been picked to finish atop the Pac- 12 North.
Kansas
A federal judge declined to dismiss former Jayhawks football coach David Beaty’s lawsuit against the University of Kansas’ athletics department, allowing the multi- million dollar case to proceed. Beaty sued Kansas Athletics in March, months after he was fired toward the end of the 2018 season, the latest in a long procession of losing seasons for the Jayhawks football program. Beaty said he was originally fired by athletics director Jeff Long without cause, entitling the coach to a $ 3 million payout to conclude his contract.