Terrelle Pryor gets a lot of hype, be it preseason favorite for offensive player of the year1, or most overrated player in the Big Ten as picked by a group of guys who haven’t had much success in their college careers2. By the numbers, what did the Big Ten quarterbacks look like last season?
| cmp | att | yards | cmp% | TD | int | YPA | rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daryll Clark | 136 | 230 | 1793 | 0.59 | 12 | 6 | 7.80 | 136.6 |
| Joey Elliot | 184 | 295 | 2063 | 0.62 | 15 | 7 | 6.99 | 133.1 |
| Scott Tolzien | 129 | 214 | 1551 | 0.60 | 12 | 8 | 7.25 | 132.2 |
| Kirk Cousins | 117 | 206 | 1458 | 0.568 | 11 | 6 | 7.08 | 128.0 |
| Terrelle Pryor | 91 | 161 | 1080 | 0.57 | 11 | 6 | 6.71 | 128.0 |
| Mike Kafka | 193 | 297 | 1967 | 0.65 | 9 | 4 | 6.62 | 127.9 |
| Ben Chappell | 183 | 303 | 2090 | 0.60 | 14 | 11 | 6.90 | 126.3 |
| Ricky Stanzi | 76 | 149 | 1246 | 0.51 | 7 | 9 | 8.36 | 124.7 |
| Tate Forcier | 120 | 213 | 1524 | 0.56 | 8 | 9 | 7.15 | 120.4 |
| Juice Williams | 84 | 149 | 960 | 0.56 | 6 | 4 | 6.44 | 118.4 |
| Adam Weber | 103 | 211 | 1534 | 0.49 | 9 | 9 | 7.27 | 115.4 |
These numbers are for Big Ten play only.
How does Pryor measure up? His completion percentage is about average, his yards per attempt is near the bottom, but his touchdown to interception ratio is near the top. This all adds up to a quarterback rating that is a virtual dead heat for fourth overall, but clearly a step below Clark, Elliot and Tolzien.
The glaring difference in the chart above can be found in both total yards and attempts. Stanzi and Williams missed 2-3 games, Chappell, Kafka and Elliot are head and shoulders above the rest in terms of attempts. The question becomes, where are Pryor’s missing 40-50 attempts?
| att | yard | avg | td | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrelle Pryor | 105 | 448 | 4.27 | 4 |
| Juice Williams | 104 | 308 | 2.96 | 3 |
| Joey Elliot | 66 | 194 | 2.94 | 2 |
| Daryll Clark | 62 | 182 | 2.94 | 6 |
| Kirk Cousins | 22 | 49 | 2.23 | 0 |
| Mike Kafka | 91 | 192 | 2.11 | 4 |
| Tate Forcier | 88 | 128 | 1.45 | 2 |
| Scott Tolzien | 43 | 30 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Ricky Stanzi | 31 | 11 | 0.35 | 0 |
| Ben Chappell | 34 | 2 | 0.06 | 2 |
| Adam Weber | 49 | -98 | -2 | 1 |
Running with the football is where Pryor appears to be elite among Big Ten quarterbacks. I don’t know how these numbers break down in terms of sacks, scrambles and assigned runs, but that’s something I want to keep track of this season.
Pryor’s play in Big Ten games last year wasn’t bad enough to destroy the high expectations that he came into the season with, and wasn’t good enough to validate them. So he begins this season in the same position as the last, buckeye fans hoping the brilliance in his play becomes the rule rather than the exception.
- http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/08/02/0802-osu-is-pick-in-big-ten.html
- http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-football/michigan-football-team-player-poll-part-1-hardest-hitter-embarrassing-memories-and-more/
Comments
"Pryor’s play in Big Ten games last year wasn’t bad enough to destroy the high expectations that he came into the season with, and wasn’t good enough to validate them."
Perfectly put. Nice Post!
And we'll drink to old Ohio, 'Til we wobble in our shoes!
Indeed. Nice work!