By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
Let me start by saying that I am sorry that I missed the JTR Rankings (and other content) last week. An illness set me back (COVID strikes again). However, we are back and the two weeks gave the rankings plenty of time to shake up. You might be shocked to see where your favorite QB is ranked now.
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.
| Rank (Previous Rank) | Player | Team | JTR Score |
| 1 (5) | Charlie Sammos | LSU | 89.413 |
| 2 (1) | Noir Royal | Illinois | 86.004 |
| 3 (8) | Brandon Petty | Georgia | 81.525 |
| 4 (12) | Gunner Rice | West Virginia | 81.495 |
| 5 (11) | Baker Thomas | Auburn | 80.129 |
| 6 (3) | Sean Keohane | Penn State | 79.846 |
| 7 (9) | Avery Ware | Alabama | 79.263 |
| 8 (4) | Beau Dale | Florida | 78.743 |
| 9 (2) | Sam Dobbins | Miami | 78.651 |
| 10 (6) | Zeus Claydon | Florida State | 77.477 |
| 11 (10) | Greg Cooksey | Michigan | 76.425 |
| 12 (7) | Jay Duke | Texas | 74.769 |
| 13 (13) | McKade Alber | Boise State | 74.234 |
| 14 (15) | Kolten Powell | USC | 72.517 |
| 15 (14) | Claude DuBois | Oregon | 72.450 |
| 16 (18) | Andrei Belov | Pittsburgh | 70.999 |
| 17 (16) | Mateo Walker | Kentucky | 70.626 |
| 18 (22) | Ludwig Friedman | Cincinnati | 70.255 |
| 19 (23) | Del Toro | Notre Dame | 69.500 |
| 20 (19) | Windham Carter | Baylor | 67.947 |
| 21 (17) | Brantley Gauci | Ohio State | 66.087 |
| 22 (20) | JK Matthews | Syracuse | 65.897 |
| 23 (21) | Sky Sanders | Colorado | 63.569 |
| 24 (28) | Terry Olliff | Oklahoma State | 62.586 |
| 25 (24) | Kyson Carey | Tennessee | 62.201 |
| 26 (27) | Kevin Price | North Carolina | 60.568 |
| 27 (23) | Owen Dart | Washington | 60.011 |
| 28 (25) | Luke Cannon | Clemson | 58.237 |
Findings
If you have been a reader of this article in the past, you’ll notice that this week doesn’t include the change in score. I am still not 100% and I had to battle to get this much done. I promise that will be back next week.
Congratulations to LSU’s Charlie Sammons who took over the top spot on the list. This is his first appearance at the top spot this season. Sammons jumped four spots to overtake Noir Royal of Illinois.
However, Sammons was not our biggest climber. West Virginia’s Gunner Rice takes that honor. Rice moved up eight spots to make his top-five debut. I have a feeling he will find himself in this area often in his career. Shout out to Baker Thomas, who jumped six spots this week (second most).
