Ranking quarterbacks Auburn faces in 2023

Fall camps begin this week for teams around the country, signaling the 2023 football season is nearly here. In the first season under new head coach Hugh Freeze, Auburn will battle head-to-head against a number of talented quarterbacks. Here is an overview of which quarterbacks the Tigers’ defense will face in 2023, ranking them from least dangerous to most dangerous.

12. Taisun Phommachanh, UMass

Starting the list is UMass quarterback Taisun Phommachanh. Phommachanh is now at his third school in five seasons after beginning his career at Clemson and then transferring to Georgia Tech. Touted as a 4-star QB out of high school and the No. 5 dual threat QB in the country according to the 247Sports composite rankings, Phommachanh is a talented QB who just has not found playing time at his previous two stops. Now, he is expected to start for the Minutemen. Over his four seasons is college, Phommachanh has completed 24 of his 53 passes for 217 yards with one touchdown to four interceptions.

11. Michael Hiers, Samford

Samford QB Michael Hiers was one of the best quarterbacks in FCS a season ago. Hiers was a third team All-American by AP and finished fourth in the Walter Payton Award voting, which is given to the best offensive player in FCS. Completing 77% of his passes for 3,544 yards and 36 touchdowns to only four interceptions, Hiers was an elite QB at the FCS level last season with supreme accuracy. However, in Samford’s one game against an FBS opponent in 2022 (Georgia), Hiers threw for 61 yards as Samford was shutout by the Bulldogs. Nonetheless, Hiers is a guy who can hurt the Auburn secondary with his dangerous arm.

10. Sam Jackson V, California

Sam Jackson V is a newcomer for the California Golden Bears after spending his first two seasons at TCU. Jackson V saw limited playing time with TCU as he only appeared in seven games, completing all six of his passes for 140 yards while rushing for 79 yards and two touchdowns, but was rated highly among quarterbacks in the transfer portal. 247Sports had Jackson V ranked as the 11th-best QB in the 2023 transfer portal class and a 4-star. While Jackson V is relatively unproven so far, he has great talent and is a threat on the ground.

9. Diego Pavia, New Mexico State

New Mexico State’s Diego Pavia took over at QB for the Aggies midway through the 2022 season and instantly impressed. Tossing for 1,450 yards, 13 touchdowns, six interceptions, Pavia also ran for 508 yards and six touchdowns. Pavia had his breakout game against Freeze’s Liberty in November as the dual threat QB tallied 339 total yards and six touchdowns as the Aggies stomped Liberty 49-14. Pavia also was awarded the Quick Lane Bowl MVP as the Aggies won their bowl game. Since then, Pavia was named to the Maxwell Award watch list and named to Phil Steele’s All-Conference USA second team.

8. AJ Swann, Vanderbilt

AJ Swann had a solid freshman season in 2022 for Vanderbilt as the 6-foot-3 QB threw for 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns to just two interceptions over nine games. Swann opened his freshman seasons with 159 consecutive pass attempts before throwing an interception and had a couple games where he was extremely efficient through the air. Against Northern Illinois, Swann threw for 255 yards and four touchdowns, and against Ole Miss, Swann recorded 281 yards passing and two touchdowns. Rated as a 4-star in the 247Sports composite rankings in the 2022 class, Swann is the third-highest QB to ever sign with the Commodores and possesses the traits to hurt an opponent’s defense.

7. Jalen Milroe/Ty Simpson/Tyler Buchner, Alabama

Alabama is still figuring out who its starting QB will be for 2023, but any of the three listed can squeeze into the seven spot. Jalen Milroe was the backup last season for Alabama and started one game for the Crimson Tide after an injury to Bryce Young. Milroe proved to be an excellent runner but had trouble taking care of the ball — turning it over three times in his one start. Those turnover issues trickled into Alabama’s spring game as Milroe tossed two interceptions while former 5-star Ty Simpson also threw one. Following the spring game, Alabama landed Tyler Buchner from Notre Dame out of the transfer portal. The addition of Buchner reunited the QB with his former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who served as OC for the Fighting Irish while Bucnher was there. While at Notre Dame, Buchner completed just 56.8% of his passes for 949 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions. Adding Buchner after spring practices signals that Alabama felt the need to grab a starting QB out of the portal, but this could be a competition that lingers into the regular season for Nick Saban.

6. Conner Weigman, Texas A&M

Conner Weigman was a 5-star out of high school and showed flashes of that high ranking in his freshman campaign at Texas A&M in 2022. In his first career start, Weigman threw for 338 yards and four touchdowns against Ole Miss. He failed to eclipse 200 yards after that game, but under new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, Weigman could take a huge leap in his first full season as the starter as he’s surrounded by loads of talent. Weigman finished his freshman season with 896 yards passing, eight touchdowns, zero interceptions with a 55.3% completion percentage.

5. Carson Beck, Georgia

While Carson Beck is yet to make his first college start, he is expected to be the guy under center for the back-to-back national champions. Beck was a 4-star out of high school, ranked as the No. 9 pro-style quarterback in the 2020 class according to the 247Sports composite. Beck has played in 10 games with the Bulldogs — completing 62.1% of his passes for 486 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. Beck showed he’s ready to take the reins for Georgia in the spring game when he went 15-of-22 for 231 yards and one touchdown. Given the talent at Georgia and Beck’s own talent level, he sits at five here despite never making a start at the collegiate level.

4. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss

Jaxson Dart started last year for the Rebels, and although Lane Kiffin grabbed two quarterbacks from the transfer portal in Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard, Dart could start again in 2023. Dart threw for just under 3,000 yards last year with 20 touchdowns to 11 interceptions and was also a threat on the ground with 614 yards rushing and one touchdown. Dart only completed nine of his 19 passes against Auburn last season but still found success with three touchdowns through the air and 115 yards on the ground. Dart under Kiffin for the second consecutive season could be poised for a breakout year.

3. Will Rogers, Mississippi State

Will Rogers is entering his third season as the starter for Mississippi State and has put up incredible stats in the air raid offense. Last season, Rogers threw for 3,974 yards, 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Based off last season’s numbers, Rogers was selected to the preseason All-SEC third team and named to the 2023 Maxwell Award watch list. Rogers has also had incredible success against Auburn as last season he threw for 357 yards on 71.2% completion percentage for three touchdowns with one interception. In 2021, Rogers torched Auburn’s defense with 415 yards and six touchdowns as Mississippi State erased a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Tigers.

2. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas

KJ Jefferson has proved to be one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC over the past couple seasons as the 6-foot-3 QB totaled 3,276 yards in 2022 with 33 total touchdowns and five interceptions. Paired with one of the best running backs in the conference as well in Raheim Sanders, Jefferson is set to have another big season on the ground. He’s damaged Auburn in the past as he had 279 total yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers in 2022. Jefferson was recently named to the preseason All-SEC second team and a part of the Maxwell Award watch list. 

1. Jayden Daniels, LSU

The top-ranked QB on this list is LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Entering his fifth season in college football, Daniels has the experience and talent to top this list. Throwing for 2,913 yards with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions last season, Daniels also ran for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. While Daniels did not hurt Auburn much last season, completing just eight of his 20 passes for 80 yards and recording one rushing touchdown before leaving the game with an injury, Daniels steadily improved throughout the season by leading LSU to wins over Alabama, Ole Miss and Arkansas. Daniels recorded over 2,200 yards and 19 touchdowns in the second half of the season, showing his improvement. Daniels was named to the preseason All-SEC first team after media days and the Maxwell Award watch list for the 2023 season.

Auburn kicks off the 2023 season on Sept. 2 against UMass to begin the Freeze era and start the process of facing these quarterbacks. Auburn’s season opener is scheduled to kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CST and be televised on ESPN.