SEC quarterbacks 'excited' about new, improved conference: 'It's going to be awesome'

You could even argue that the SEC was already the best conference in college football before realignment, and it got even better this offseason.

Already comprised of No. 1 Georgia and No. 5 Alabama, the conference officially added No. 3 Texas and No. 16 Oklahoma earlier this month.

Nine SEC teams are ranked nationally, including four in the top six. With the addition of the two former Big 12 schools, conference veteran Jalen Milroe is excited about the new competition.

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A billboard with the SEC logo before the NCAA Women's Final Four. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)

“It’s awesome. It adds competition to the league,” the Alabama quarterback told Fox News Digital. “To have that, to have more importance to the conference, it’s going to be awesome. Just to have that experience, it’s going to be awesome, man.”

LSU sharpshooter Garrett Nussmeier, No. 13, added: “I think if you add those schools, it just increases the competitiveness and the aura of our conference, which was already the best conference in all of college football. If you add those two, it makes it even stronger and more competitive.”

Quinn Ewers is an SEC rookie. He recently praised the 12-team playoff, noting that it was hard to see last year's SEC champion get left out. Georgia, which was 42-1 in 43 games, lost the conference title game to Alabama, which knocked the Crimson Tide out and left the Bulldogs out of contention.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers throws downfield against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the first half of the Big 12 Championship at AT&T Stadium on December 2, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

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Assuming all goes as planned, many SEC teams will be in the playoffs, and Ewers is excited about his new competition.

“I’m really motivated. I’ve always wanted to play in the SEC. I just want to feel that outside feeling, they have a saying, ‘It means more than that,’” the Texas quarterback said. “They really care about their football. So to be a part of a conference like that, it’s going to be a lot of fun.

“They have some of the best competition. So to be in a conference like that, where the competition is top-notch week in and week out, it’s going to be awesome. If you want to be the best, you have to play against the best, so I’m looking forward to this year.”

The SEC logo on the field of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida on September 1, 2022. (Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun/USA Today Network)

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Ole Miss (No. 6), Mizzou (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 15) and Texas A&M (No. 20) are the conference's other ranked teams.

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