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SEC Football: 5 worst starting quarterback situations for 2017

By Andrew Miller

BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 05: Danny Etling #16 of the LSU Tigers rushes against Alabama Crimson Tide at Tiger Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 05: Danny Etling #16 of the LSU Tigers rushes against Alabama Crimson Tide at Tiger Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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TUSCALOOSA, AL – OCTOBER 01: Tim Williams #56 of the Alabama Crimson Tide strips the ball and forces a fumble by Stephen Johnson #15 of the Kentucky Wildcats at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL – OCTOBER 01: Tim Williams #56 of the Alabama Crimson Tide strips the ball and forces a fumble by Stephen Johnson #15 of the Kentucky Wildcats at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Kentucky could very easily have a different starter by the end of the 2017 season than Stephen Johnson. He performed admirably in the place of injured starter Drew Barker last season. Before Barker got injured, he threw more interceptions than touchdowns for the second straight season. Johnson did much better than that in his place.

The quarterback competition remains open with Kentucky but Johnson is expected to win the race in the end. However, his leash is likely to be short this season. The Wildcats are competing in a wide open SEC East race but could easily fall to the bottom of the division very fast. Teams like the Missouri Tigers, Vanderbilt Commodores, South Carolina Gamecocks, and Tennessee Volunteers, all have better quarterback situations than Kentucky and will be competing to get into the top half of the division.

Last season, Johnson threw for more than 2,000 yards with 16 total touchdowns and only six interceptions. The highlight of Johnson’s season was a huge win against Lamar Jackson’s Louisville Cardinals in which he threw three touchdowns. He also led Kentucky to victories over Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Missouri.

Johnson has a great chance to solidify himself as Kentucky’s starting quarterback for good against Southern Miss in week 1. But he has yet to even win the starting quarterback job for the 2017 campaign so there’s a lot of questions that still need to be answered.

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