SEC Unfiltered: Transfers leaving SEC was a rarity, but these 3 quarterbacks could be consequential

Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK's newsletter on SEC sports. Look for this newsletter in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Today, Montgomery Advertiser reporter Bennett Durando takes over:

Of all the transfer-portal trends from this offseason, none was more quietly striking than the SEC's retention.

According to 247Sports' ranking of all 2022 transfers, only three of the top 50 were SEC players leaving the league. Eleven of the top 50 came into the SEC from elsewhere, and nine were intraconference transfers. Two of the three who left were at Alabama, where there's a constant assembly line of replacements.

That's rather limiting for the usual what-could-have-been speculation that becomes enticing during football season. There are, however, three SEC starting quarterbacks who found greener pastures.

Should Georgia fans pay attention to how J.T. Daniels performs in his new home at West Virginia? How closely will Auburn fans monitor three-year starter Bo Nix at Oregon? Will Missouri fans care about Connor Bazelak at Indiana?

The latter two programs are both entering preseason practice with multiple quarterbacks still competing to replace last year's starter. The former has settled on Stetson Bennett, a former walk-on who transformed into a national championship gunslinger of destiny.

Bennett still faced fan skepticism after Georgia's title, perhaps because of his size or lack of blue-chip status. Daniels did, after all, complete 69.5% of his passes in his injury-abbreviated two years at Georgia. Fans who finally tasted glory and want more of it will undoubtedly feel tempted to check Daniels' stats any time Bennett makes a mistake this season.

The same can be said for Auburn, where the most likely Nix replacement is Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada. The Tigers were 6-2 last November and nursing a 28-23 lead against Mississippi State when Nix broke his ankle. Auburn lost that game, then the next three without its second-generation quarterback.

Nix begins his Oregon career against (go figure) Auburn rival Georgia.

While Missouri chooses between inexperienced candidates Brady Cook, Tyler Macon and Sam Horn, Bazelak moves on to Indiana. He was benched last season after struggling with turnovers, a step back from his impressive 2020.

Missouri needed a fresh start as much as he did, but the memory of Bazelak's steadiness two years ago might nag at fans during a time of uncertainty.

Maybe those departures turn out to be irrelevant. Or who knows? Maybe in five months, all three teams regret losing those transfers. Players ditching the SEC is a rarity, but the quarterbacks are always the most potentially consequential.

Reach Bennett Durando at BDurando@gannett.com and on Twitter @BennettDurando.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Transfers leaving SEC was a rarity, but these 3 quarterbacks could be consequential