AUBURN — Quarterback doesn't mean everything, but it certainly means a whole lot.

Auburn football has its own questions at the position ahead of next season — all eyes are on incumbent starter Payton Thorne after AU made a change at offensive coordinator and overhauled at receiver — but who the Tigers play is arguably just as important.

From unproven commodities such as Brock Vandagriff and Jackson Arnold to NFL hopefuls like Carson Beck and Jalen Milroe, here's a ranking of the 12 QBs Auburn is set to battle in 2024:

GOOD AND BAD: Why Auburn football will — and why it won't — win at least 8 games in 2024

NEXT SEASON: Ranking Auburn football by position group, from TE to DL

Note: Some teams are engaged in a quarterback battle and have yet to name a starter. Based on various reports, the names listed below are who we expect to be the starters.

12. Xavier Lankford (Alabama A&M)

Alabama A&M has four quarterbacks — Quad Brown, Xavier Lankford, Aveon Smith and Ashley Tucker — jockeying for the starting role. Brown, Lankford and Tucker all saw action with the Bulldogs last season, with Lankford seeing the most opportunity. He completed 81 of his 144 pass attempts (56.3%) for 904 yards and eight touchdowns. He also added 294 yards and six scores on the ground.

11. Aidan Armeta (Louisiana-Monroe)

First-year coach Bryant Vincent was hired at Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 5. It took him just over a month to bring in New Mexico transfer Aidan Armeta, who spent one season with the Lobos. Armeta, a native of Albuquerque, was unranked by three of the four major recruiting services, but On3 Sports had him tabbed as a three-star prospect and the No. 28 QB in the Class of 2023.

10. Dylan Hopkins (New Mexico)

A veteran quarterback who is entering his sixth season of collegiate football, Dylan Hopkins spent the first four years of his career at UAB before he entered the portal in January 2023 and transferred to New Mexico. He appeared in 11 games with the Lobos last season, completing 55.7% of his passes for 2,074 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

9. Taylen Green (Arkansas)

Boise State transfer Taylen Green is the favorite to be the starting QB for coach Sam Pittman at Arkansas in 2024. He's tasked with replacing KJ Jefferson, who had been the starter for the last three seasons but has since transferred to UCF. Green was a two-year starter with the Broncos. He completed 59.4% of his throws for 1,752 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 26 career starts.

8. Fernando Mendoza (Cal)

Rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 2,149 player in the Class of 2022, Fernando Mendoza was able to get on the field for some meaningful reps as a redshirt freshman in 2023. He logged 549 offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and had one of his more impressive performances in a win over Stanford on Nov. 18, registering 294 passing yards and three touchdowns.

7. Nate Johnson (Vanderbilt)

Vanderbilt has a couple of transfer options at quarterback in Nate Johnson (Utah) and Diego Pavia (New Mexico State). Pavia may strike more fear into Auburn fans after he led his Aggies to a 21-point win over the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium last season, but Johnson was a key contributor on a Utah team that won eight games. A threat with his arm and legs, Johnson totaled 739 offensive yards and five touchdowns last season.

6. Brock Vandagriff (Kentucky)

Sitting behind Stetson Bennett IV from 2021-22 and Carson Beck in 2023, former five-star recruit Brock Vandagriff never could get on the field much at Georgia. Now at Kentucky after transferring to the school in December, Vandagriff is poised to get his first real collegiate opportunity. The only three QBs ranked by the 247Sports Composite above Vandagriff in the Class of 2021 were Quinn Ewers, Caleb Williams and Sam Huard.

5. Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma)

Another coveted recruit who has yet to play much, Jackson Arnold got to learn as a true freshman behind Dillon Gabriel last season. With Gabriel now at Oregon, Arnold, tabbed as the No. 8 overall prospect in the Class of 2023, has the keys to the car at Oklahoma.

4. Conner Weigman (Texas A&M)

Conner Weigman has only played in nine games over the first two seasons of his career, but the results have been solid. He's averaged 223 passing yards in the eight games he's started, and his career touchdown-to-interception ratio sits at 16:2. His campaign was limited to four games last season after he suffered a foot injury against Auburn in Week 4.

3. Jalen Milroe (Alabama)

With former Alabama coach Nick Saban retiring and the program hiring Kalen DeBoer, much has changed for the Crimson Tide since it stunned Auburn with a fourth-and-31 miracle last season. What hasn't changed is the quarterback who threw that pass, as Jalen Milroe is back for his fourth season at Alabama and his second as the starter.

2. Brady Cook (Missouri)

Combining with receiver Luther Burden III to form one of the scariest QB-WR tandems in the SEC, fifth-year quarterback Brady Cook is back for a third season as Missouri's starter. Nine times, Cook threw for more than 200 yards last season. His passing efficiency rating of 157.2 is No. 3 in program history, and he gets Burden back in 2024.

1. Carson Beck (Georgia)

Already predicted by some as a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Carson Beck will try to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time as a starter next season after coming up just short in 2023. Beck led the SEC in passing yards (3,941) last season and was second amongst starters in completion percentage (72.4%).

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Ranking each QB Tigers are scheduled to play in 2024