By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
Another week is in the books and out-of-conference play is over. Before heading into the conference battles, let’s look at how these QBs are looking so far.
How JTR Works
JTR ranks players by comparison to the league average using unbiased stats. By unbiased stats, we mean stats that don’t show a preference for one style of play over another. For example, we expect a quarterback in an air raid system to throw the ball more often than a quarterback in a multiple set. So comparing the two based on completions wouldn’t be fair. Once we determine stats that we believe to be unbiased, we create a league average. Outperforming the league average earns a player positive points. Stats that fall below the league average will earn a player negative points. Points for each stat are calculated and combined with a base rating given to each player. The combination results in a player’s JTR metric score. 0 is the worst possible score and 100 is the best possible score.
For QBs, the stats we chose to use are completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, interception percentage, passing yards per game, and unique rushing index. The rushing index excludes sacks from a quarterback’s rush totals to get a more accurate sense of them as a runner. Also, QBs cannot take negative points from the rushing index (outside of fumbles). This is because a running ability for a quarterback is a plus, but not a requirement.
JTR is not a predictive metric. It cannot tell the future. It can only measure what a player has done up to that point.
JTR Leaderboard
| Rank (Last Week) | Player | Team | JTR Score (Change) |
| 1 (1) | Johnny Ray Davis | Alabama | 90.622 (+0.180) |
| 2 (2) | Kevin Price | North Carolina | 87.868 (-0.475) |
| 3 (11) | Jaylen Tyree | Ohio State | 86.837 (+14.564) |
| 4 (3) | Leisa Pink | Miami | 77.708 (-8.811) |
| 5 (8) | Tavon Moss* | LSU | 77.477 (+1.135) |
| 6 (6) | Windham Carter | Michigan | 77.310 (-1.010) |
| 7 (5) | Spunky Tolbert | Texas | 76.723 (-2.103) |
| 8 (9) | TJ Cunnington | Kentucky | 76.228 (+0.250) |
| 9 (7) | Sky Sanders | Colorado | 75.721 (-1.893) |
| 10 (13) | Sterling Verdugo | Tennessee | 72.428 (+2.802) |
| 11 (12) | Jamesyn Golde | USC | 72.185 (+2.118) |
| 12 (19) | Bear Michaels* | Florida State | 71.033 (+7.650) |
| 13 (4) | Himoteo Del Este | Oklahoma | 69.847 (-12.440) |
| 14 (16) | Saint Major | Virginia Tech | 69.579 (+4.438) |
| 15 (17) | Jack Schmidt | Florida | 68.795 (+3.699) |
| 16 (14) | Cole Mantell | Michigan State | 67.871 (-1.701) |
| 17 (24) | Bojack Merriweather | Clemson | 67.138 (+11.230) |
| 18 (15) | Matt Perez | Notre Dame | 63.304 (-2.327) |
| 19 (20) | Gunner Rice | West Virginia | 63.188 (+1.578) |
| 20 (18) | Alexa Earl | Oregon | 61.701 (-2.897) |
| 21 (22) | Jay Duke | Auburn | 61.295 (+4.422) |
| 22 (21) | Malcom Streets | Texas A&M | 57.382 (-1.906) |
| 23 (10) | Brandon Petty | Georgia | 55.273 (-17.365) |
| 24 (23) | JK Matthews | Penn State | 51.137 (-5.025) |
Findings
Johnny Ray Davis holds his top spot for the second straight week. His score increased slightly this week, but it was enough to keep him on top. This is the second #1 ranking in the JTR in Davis’ career.
The biggest score improvement belongs to Jaylen Tyree of Ohio State. Tyree threw for 484 yards and five touchdowns in a big win over Kentucky. His brilliant performance gave him more than a 14.5-point jump in score. The other big score improvers were Clemson’s Bojack Merriweather, Florida State’s Bear Michaels, and Virginia Tech’s Saint Major.
Rarely, the biggest score improver is also the biggest rank improver, but this week it happened. Tyree jumped up eight spots on the leaderboard this week, landing inside the top three. This is the highest he has been ranked this season. Other people who launched up the leaderboard include Florida State’s Bear Michaels, Clemson’s Bojack Merriweather, Tennessee’s Sterling Verdugo, and LSU’s Tavon Moss.
As the season rolls on, the scoring movement will start to decrease. However, with over half the season left, we are still seeing big movers. Good luck to all 24 quarterbacks.
