By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
The JTR is entering its 6th season. In that time there has never been a week featuring as much movement as this one. We are in for a wild season if this trend continues. Let’s look at the numbers.
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 (7) | Jaylen Tyree | Ohio State | 98.735 (+13.715) |
| 2 (2) | Himoteo Del Este | Oklahoma | 92.015 (+0.043) |
| 3 (4) | Kevin Price | North Carolina | 90.905 (+2.370) |
| 4 (8) | Owen Dart | Texas A&M | 88.773 (+4.254) |
| 5 (13) | Jack Schmidt | Florida | 83.808 (+13.623) |
| 6 (10) | Sean Keohane | LSU | 83.358 (+3.751) |
| 7 (1) | TJ Cunnington | Kentucky | 82.793 (-12.261) |
| 8 (12) | Saint Major | Virginia Tech | 82.562 (+11.857) |
| 9 (11) | Zeus Claydon | Florida State | 80.003 (+6.018) |
| 10 (17) | Jay Duke | Auburn | 77.887 (+14.330) |
| 11 (3) | Jamesyn Golde | USC | 74.387 (-14.586) |
| 12 (9) | JK Matthews | Penn State | 72.430 (-8.775) |
| 13 (24) | Cole Mantell | Michigan State | 72.324 (+23.152) |
| 14 (5) | Kolten Powell | Texas | 71.957 (-16.389) |
| 15 (15) | Noir Royal | Notre Dame | 71.764 (+4.808) |
| 16 (16) | Johnny Ray Davis | Alabama | 70.494 (+3.983) |
| 17 (23) | Gunner Rice | West Virginia | 69.171 (+15.602) |
| 18 (6) | Sterling Verdugo | Tennessee | 65.151 (-20.673) |
| 19 (20) | Brandon Petty | Georgia | 63.620 (+2.875) |
| 20 (19) | Tavon Moss | Clemson | 59.503 (-1.423) |
| 21 (14) | Windham Carter | Michigan | 58.593 (-11.363) |
| 22 (21) | Leisa Pink | Miami | 58.489 (-1.103) |
| 23 (22) | Sky Sanders | Colorado | 51.678 (-4.632) |
| 24 (18) | Claude DuBois | Oregon | 46.386 (-16.570) |
Findings
There is a lot to cover this week. Let’s start at the top of the leaderboard. JT Cunnington is not in first for the first time in 8 consecutive weeks (a JTR Record). Ohio State’s Jaylen Tyree stormed to the top of the list after a brilliant showing against Columbus. It is the first time Tyree has been on top of this leaderboard.
Tyree did make a 13.715-point increase to his score, but he was not the biggest score improver. That honor belongs to Michigan State’s Cole Mantell, who bumped his score by over 23 points. This incredible increase is the largest natural increase in the history of the JTR. He had a massive game against Tennessee this week and finally looked like the player we all thought he could be. Other big score increases belong to West Virginia’s Gunner Rice, Auburn’s Jay Duke, and Tyree.
The article opened with talk of the unprecedented movement this week. 12 different either improved or decreased their score by 10 or more this week, another JTR first. Nearly half of the top 10 were new faces. This was a wild week and it will be interesting to see if this movement continues or if a few players can truly separate themselves.
One player who could be an early candidate for a JTR leader is Oklahoma’s Himoteo Del Este. He held his place in second. That made him the only 1 of only two players to be in the top five in both weeks this season. The other is North Carolina’s Kevin Price, another QB to keep an eye on.
Best of luck to all 24 signal callers this coming week!
