Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports
Southeastern Conference football players, and all others, are revered for their accomplishments on the field. We marvel at magnificent performances, speak of legendary seasons and relive amazing plays over and over. But a player’s career statistics, more than anything, truly represent the legacy they leave for their school and fans.
It’s not every year that we get to see SEC career football records broken. Only a few have been broken in the last few years. In 2013, however, a number of all-time career offensive statistical records could fall. One player, Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray, is gunning for five all-time statistical records to go with the SEC and national titles he returned to collect.
Some are all but guaranteed to be broken, while others are more of a long shot. Here’s a look at each, listed from most- to least-likely to be broken.
Passing Yards
Current Record: 11,528 – David Greene, Georgia
Trying to Break Record: Aaron Murray, Georgia. Murray has 10,091 total passing yards, needing only 1,437 to become the all-time SEC passing leader. Barring an injury to Murray, you can pretty much take this one to the bank.
Total Offensive Yards Gained
Current Record: 12,232 – Tim Tebow, Florida (2,947 rushing, 9,285 passing)
Trying to Break Record: Aaron Murray, Georgia. Murray enters 2013 with 10,301 total offensive yards (10,091 passing, 210 rushing). He is already 8th on the list and only needs 1,931 yards to become the all-time record holder. Barring and early season injury, this is pretty much a lock.
Pass Completions
Current Record: 895 – Chris Leak, Florida
Trying to Break Record: Aaron Murray, Georgia. Murray enters 2013 with 696 completions. He needs to average 17 completions in 12 regular-season games to break the record. Chances are he’ll do that and much more.
Touchdown Passes
Current Record: 114 – Danny Wuerffel, Florida
Trying to Break Record: Aaron Murray, Georgia. The Bulldogs QB enters 2013 with 95 career touchdown passes, a mere 20 shy of becoming the SEC’s all-time leader. It will be hard for defenses to prevent him from topping this list by year’s end.
Reception Yardage
Current Record: 3,093 – Terrence Edwards, Georgia
Trying to Break Record: Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt. Matthews is just 804 yards shy of breaking the record with a 2,290 career mark. He racked up more than 1,300 receiving yards last season and would probably be listed as more likely to break this record if there weren’t questions about Vandy’s new quarterback, Austyn Carta-Samuels. Still, Matthews’ chances of breaking the record are fairly good.
Touchdown Responsibility
Current Record: 145 – Tim Tebow, Florida (57 rushing, 88 passing)
Trying to Break Record: Aaron Murray, Georgia. Murray has accounted for 104 touchdowns (9 rushing, 95 passing) in three years as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback. He is currently third on the SEC all-time list and needs 42 touchdowns to pass Tebow. It’s going to be tough, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.
Touchdown Receptions
Current Record: 31 – Chris Doering, Florida
Trying to Break Record: Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt. The Commodores’ stellar receiver has 17 career touchdown receptions. The question here is whether or not he will get the caliber of play he needs from his quarterback to haul in 15 touchdowns and break the record.
Rushing Yards by Quarterbacks
Current Record: 2,947 – Tim Tebow, Florida
Trying to Break Record: Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M. The returning Heisman Trophy winner rushed for 1,410 yards last season but will have to replicate that and then some to break Timmy Football’s career mark this season. With defenses likely to be better adjusted to containing Manziel, the odds of him rushing for 1,538 yards in 2013 don’t appear to be in his favor. But he’s a great player, so it can’t be ruled out completely.
Scott Page is an SEC football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, Like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
