By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
The JTR scores are getting a lot tighter as the season moves on. Before we dive into it, let’s look at how the JTR works.
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). A quarterback’s running ability 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 (Previous) | Player | Team | JTR Score (Changes) |
| 1 (1) | Himoteo Del Este | Oklahoma | 88.946 (-8.514) |
| 2 (3) | Jaylen Tyree | Ohio State | 87.422 (-1.953) |
| 3 (6) | Zacchaeus Mosley* | Auburn | 83.804 (-0.815) |
| 4 (5) | Troy League | USC | 83.172 (-2.216) |
| 5 (11) | Malcom Streets* | Texas A&M | 83.093 (+6.376) |
| 6 (2) | Alexa Earl | Oregon | 82.520 (-8.103) |
| 7 (9) | Jack Schmidt | Florida | 82.313 (+3.123) |
| 8 (4) | TJ Cunnington | Miami | 82.046 (-5.634) |
| 9 (7) | Drake McDaniel | Georgia | 81.610 (-0.616) |
| 10 (10) | Cole Mantell | North Carolina | 78.391 (+0.803) |
| 11 (12) | Johnny Ray Davis | Alabama | 73.560 (+2.848) |
| 12 (8) | Declan Murphy | Iowa | 72.561 (-7.853) |
| 13 (20) | Tavon Moss | LSU | 71.823 (+12.866) |
| 14 (14) | Bojack Merriweather | Clemson | 70.856 (+6.714) |
| 15 (21) | Saint Major | Virginia Tech | 70.822 (+12.011) |
| 16 (13) | Lincoln League | Nebraska | 70.434 (+0.627) |
| 17 (23) | Bear Michaels | Florida State | 68.898 (+18.288) |
| 18 (22) | Matt Perez | Notre Dame | 66.350 (+10.151) |
| 19 (18) | Michael Amber | Michigan | 62.034 (+1.400) |
| 20 (17) | Spunky Tolbert | Texas | 61.509 (+0.245) |
| 21 (16) | LC Fremont | Colorado | 59.762 (-2.742) |
| 22 (23) | Sterling Verdugo | Tennessee | 57.072 (+8.508) |
| 23 (19) | CJ Yost | West Virginia | 54.554 (+-4.942) |
| 24 (15) | Colter Thomas | Penn State | 51.596 (-12.105) |
Findings
Oklahoma QB Himoteo Del Este finishes on top of the leaderboard for the second straight week. He had his worst statistical week of the season and still put up 340 total yards and four total touchdowns. This is the second time in his career that he has been the top player.
The biggest improvement in score this week (and the honor of the JTR cover photo) belongs to Florida State’s Bear Michaels. Florida State might not have been able to come up with a win, but Michaels had 504 passing yards and 4 passing touchdowns. He did this without turning the ball over. This gave him a staggering 18-point bump in his score. Other big score improvers include LSU’s Tavon Moss, Virginia Tech’s Saint Major, and Notre Dame’s Matt Perez.
Despite the big increase in score, Michaels was not the biggest mover up the leaderboard. That honor belongs to the QB he just played. LSU’s Tavon Moss had 523 passing yards, four touchdowns in the air, and two touchdowns on the ground. This jumped him seven spots in the rankings. Other big movers include Texas A&M’s Malcom Streets (6 spots), Virginia Tech’s Saint Major (6 spots), and Florida State’s Bear Michaels (5 spots).
As you saw this week, the margin from the top to the bottom got a lot tighter. This is likely to continue. As the margin’s getting thinner, each game and each throw becomes that much more important. Best of luck to every QB going into conference play!
