This is a stat dump for Big 12 QBs.
If you are disturbed by numbers, I've left some quick bullet points below that you can read to obtain the information without hurting your eyes with numbers and spreadsheets.
Some quick impressions:
*** SHIELD YOUR EYES -- BELOW THIS TEXT ARE NUMBERS ***
Donovan is dropping back to pass a lot when compared to his Big 12 peers. Note that the First Down % above includes scrambles for first downs. A triple-option QB being first is not surprising here. Our passing offense might be generating yards, but that's a product of the number of drop backs. It hasn't been that efficient.
These are both determined by the folks at Pro Football Focus:
"Turnover Worthy Plays - a pass that has a high percentage chance to be intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling."
"Big Time Throws - a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window."
It's not totally fair to Donovan to compare his 7 interceptions to the rest of the conference because of how often he's dropping back to throw. It is fair to compare his interception % to the rest of the league.
This is how far, on average, the WR target is downfield, regardless of the result of the pass. This can be a negative number for passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
Max Duggan has a small sample size against, mostly, outmatched opponents. Jalon Daniels is a triple option QB. There is a huge difference between 6th in the conference (Shapen) and 9th (Donovan). Our QB having a lower NFL passer rating than Hunter Dekkers is not ideal.
Not surprised to see Donovan where he is. From a total volume standpoint, he's pressured more than any other QB and it's not even close (Martinez has 100 less dropbacks).
The only QB that's been less effective than Donovan on deep balls is Adrian Martinez, who has also had almost a full second longer to throw. In fact, Donovan's had the least amount of time to throw when compared to all of the Big 12 QBs.
Ryan left it all out on the field in everything he did. In his honor, we bring you Fields of Gold, so that others facing bone cancer can keep on playing. A portion of proceeds from every case sold is donated to The Little Warrior Foundation.
The Little Warrior Foundation's mission is to fund & find a lasting cure for childhood cancer, with a specific focus on Ewing's Sarcoma.
https://shop.summerlandwinebrands.com/Shop/Fields-of-Gold
@Saynotobarefoot
If you are disturbed by numbers, I've left some quick bullet points below that you can read to obtain the information without hurting your eyes with numbers and spreadsheets.
Some quick impressions:
- No Big 12 team is asking more of their QB than Texas Tech, at least from a production standpoint. The average number of drop backs for a Big 12 QB is around 150 -- Donovan has almost 250. If you combine that with what we, generally, know about Kittley's offense (i.e., a lot is on the QB's plate), it's fair to say that no team is asking more of their QB from a carry-the-load-mentally standpoint (even if we've taken some stuff off his plate the last few weeks).
- Leading the Big 12 in passing isn't something we should necessarily be bragging about (although I understand why a coach would say it in a presser to boost morale, stand up for their guy, etc.) That should be a given considering how much we are dropping back to pass. We seem to be bottom third in the conference in terms of "most effective" passing offense.
- Donovan has been the most or 2nd most turnover prone QB in the conference. That's when you look at actual turnovers (interceptions or fumbles lost) or if you switch to how frequently a play *should have* been a turnover. In a way, that sort of makes sense considering how much is on Donovan's plate and how young he is compared to the other guys on these charts. For example, he's being compared to old guys like Max Duggan, Spencer Sanders, JT Daniels, Adrian Martinez.. or the unique triple option QB at Kansas. Additionally, a lot of Donovan's snaps have been in game states where Tech was behind on the scoreboard, mostly by more than one possession (you take more chances in these situations). In some ways, Donovan *should* look like the most turnover-prone QB on paper. By how much is up for debate.
- Donovan has been the least efficient QB in the Big 12 when it comes to passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield. However, he has also had the least amount of time to throw on these pass attempts. None of that is surprising when compared to the eye test. This is a big issue, IMO. Let's think of the ways to stress a defense: (1) running the ball traditionally, (2) running the ball with the QB (designed or scrambles), (3) throwing short or intermediate passes, and (4) throwing it deep. There are others, sure. But you can put a lot of football yards gained in those 4 boxes. If one of those boxes doesn't exist, it makes it a lot easier to defend the other things. Right now, we're operating without boxes (1) and (4).
- Donovan's been the most pressured Big 12 QB. Also not surprising. What has been surprising is how inefficient Donovan's been at preventing those pressures from turning into a sack. It's average to below average compared to his conference peers.
- About half the Big 12 offenses throw it farther downfield than Tech -- about half throw it shorter downfield. The discrepancy is on play-action passes. Most teams are taking deep shots out of play action sets, while we are throwing it even shorter downfield than we are on traditional dropbacks. That seems odd considering a play-action pass can, at times at least, slow down a pass rush and allow you to throw it farther downfield.
- Donovan has been the most prolific / most productive scrambler of any of the Big 12 QBs. He has not, however, been the most effective in designed runs. Some of that is the product of (1) him being asked to run the ball in short-yardage scenarios and (2) us being less effective at running the ball in general compared to our Big 12 peers. But I would bet that, if you asked our coaches, they would agree that we have not done a great job with Donovan designed runs. I'm not sure who to blame there and there are definitely bigger issues with our offense to correct before allocating resources to making Donovan a more effective runner between the tackles.
*** SHIELD YOUR EYES -- BELOW THIS TEXT ARE NUMBERS ***
| Dropbacks | First Down % | |
| Jalon Daniels | 118 | 46.61% |
| Hudson Card | 124 | 44.35% |
| Max Duggan | 103 | 43.69% |
| Spencer Sanders | 136 | 39.71% |
| Dillon Gabriel | 149 | 36.24% |
| JT Daniels | 192 | 33.33% |
| Blake Shapen | 159 | 32.70% |
| Hunter Dekkers | 208 | 32.21% |
| Donovan Smith | 247 | 31.58% |
| Adrian Martinez | 141 | 26.24% |
Donovan is dropping back to pass a lot when compared to his Big 12 peers. Note that the First Down % above includes scrambles for first downs. A triple-option QB being first is not surprising here. Our passing offense might be generating yards, but that's a product of the number of drop backs. It hasn't been that efficient.
| Turnover Worthy Play % | Big Time Throw % | |
| Hunter Dekkers | 4.50% | 3.50% |
| Donovan Smith | 3.50% | 2.70% |
| JT Daniels | 2.90% | 3.10% |
| Jalon Daniels | 2.40% | 6.00% |
| Blake Shapen | 2.40% | 3.50% |
| Adrian Martinez | 2.10% | 2.40% |
| Spencer Sanders | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| Max Duggan | 1.90% | 4.10% |
| Hudson Card | 1.50% | 0.00% |
| Dillon Gabriel | 0.00% | 4.30% |
These are both determined by the folks at Pro Football Focus:
"Turnover Worthy Plays - a pass that has a high percentage chance to be intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling."
"Big Time Throws - a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window."
| Interception % | |
| Hunter Dekkers | 2.88% |
| Donovan Smith | 2.83% |
| Blake Shapen | 1.89% |
| Spencer Sanders | 1.47% |
| JT Daniels | 1.04% |
| Jalon Daniels | 0.85% |
| Hudson Card | 0.81% |
| Dillon Gabriel | 0.00% |
| Adrian Martinez | 0.00% |
| Max Duggan | 0.00% |
It's not totally fair to Donovan to compare his 7 interceptions to the rest of the conference because of how often he's dropping back to throw. It is fair to compare his interception % to the rest of the league.
| Average Depth of Target (yards) | |
| Hudson Card | 10 |
| Dillon Gabriel | 9.8 |
| Jalon Daniels | 9.3 |
| JT Daniels | 9.1 |
| Spencer Sanders | 9.1 |
| Blake Shapen | 9 |
| Donovan Smith | 8.5 |
| Max Duggan | 8.3 |
| Adrian Martinez | 7.4 |
| Hunter Dekkers | 6.8 |
This is how far, on average, the WR target is downfield, regardless of the result of the pass. This can be a negative number for passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
| NFL QB Rating | |
| Max Duggan | 147.3 |
| Jalon Daniels | 126.4 |
| Dillon Gabriel | 120.6 |
| Spencer Sanders | 117 |
| Hudson Card | 109.9 |
| Blake Shapen | 105.6 |
| JT Daniels | 92.5 |
| Hunter Dekkers | 95 |
| Donovan Smith | 89.6 |
| Adrian Martinez | 85.2 |
Max Duggan has a small sample size against, mostly, outmatched opponents. Jalon Daniels is a triple option QB. There is a huge difference between 6th in the conference (Shapen) and 9th (Donovan). Our QB having a lower NFL passer rating than Hunter Dekkers is not ideal.
| Pressure Percentage | Percentage of Pressures Turned into Sacks | Average Time to Throw on All Dropbacks (seconds) | |
| Adrian Martinez | 41.13% | 12.10% | 2.97 |
| Donovan Smith | 36.03% | 20.20% | 2.76 |
| Hudson Card | 33.06% | 17.10% | 2.81 |
| Jalon Daniels | 27.97% | 6.10% | 2.38 |
| Hunter Dekkers | 27.88% | 22.40% | 2.56 |
| Blake Shapen | 26.42% | 23.80% | 2.97 |
| Max Duggan | 24.27% | 28.00% | 2.55 |
| JT Daniels | 23.44% | 6.10% | 2.39 |
| Spencer Sanders | 22.79% | 9.70% | 2.58 |
| Dillon Gabriel | 22.15% | 27.30% | 2.6 |
Not surprised to see Donovan where he is. From a total volume standpoint, he's pressured more than any other QB and it's not even close (Martinez has 100 less dropbacks).
| These Numbers are from Long Passes Only | |||||
| % of Attempts thrown 20+ yards downfield | Completion % | Average Time to Throw (seconds) | Yards per attempt | QB Rating | |
| Hudson Card | 22.00% | 37.50% | 3.42 | 12 | 105.7 |
| Max Duggan | 18.10% | 64.70% | 2.66 | 21.8 | 147.7 |
| Dillon Gabriel | 17.20% | 34.80% | 3.11 | 15 | 122.7 |
| Jalon Daniels | 15.90% | 47.10% | 3.02 | 16.9 | 133 |
| Spencer Sanders | 14.60% | 55.60% | 2.66 | 19.3 | 140 |
| Donovan Smith | 13.10% | 28.60% | 2.64 | 8.8 | 60 |
| JT Daniels | 12.60% | 39.10% | 2.92 | 12.3 | 125.7 |
| Blake Shapen | 10.70% | 40.00% | 3.02 | 16.5 | 99.3 |
| Adrian Martinez | 10.70% | 15.40% | 3.37 | 3.7 | 68.1 |
| Hunter Dekkers | 7.40% | 57.10% | 2.76 | 18.1 | 141.4 |
The only QB that's been less effective than Donovan on deep balls is Adrian Martinez, who has also had almost a full second longer to throw. In fact, Donovan's had the least amount of time to throw when compared to all of the Big 12 QBs.
| % of Play-Action Dropbacks | Yards Per Play-Action Pass | NFL Rating on Play-Action | Average Depth of Target | |
| Dillon Gabriel | 49.00% | 10.6 | 138.1 | 12.8 |
| Jalon Daniels | 40.20% | 10.3 | 140.2 | 9.9 |
| Hudson Card | 39.80% | 11.1 | 147.3 | 12 |
| Blake Shapen | 33.30% | 9.1 | 126.2 | 11.1 |
| Hunter Dekkers | 30.20% | 7.5 | 100 | 8.6 |
| Adrian Martinez | 27.70% | 5.3 | 84.4 | 11.1 |
| Max Duggan | 25.20% | 12.4 | 154.9 | 13.4 |
| Spencer Sanders | 22.80% | 10.1 | 110.8 | 10 |
| Donovan Smith | 22.70% | 7.5 | 110 | 8.4 |
| JT Daniels | 21.40% | 9.8 | 123.9 | 11.4 |
| Designed Rush attempts | Yards per Designed Run | Scrambles | Yards per scramble | |
| Adrian Martinez | 56 | 6.39 | 13 | 11.15 |
| Jalon Daniels | 43 | 6.44 | 8 | 6.38 |
| Donovan Smith | 34 | 2.65 | 15 | 7.00 |
| Spencer Sanders | 31 | 4.03 | 10 | 6.80 |
| Hunter Dekkers | 20 | 2.40 | 6 | 4.50 |
| Max Duggan | 16 | 10.81 | 2 | 10.00 |
| Dillon Gabriel | 11 | 10.18 | 4 | 11.50 |
| Blake Shapen | 8 | 4.25 | 9 | 5.44 |
| JT Daniels | 5 | 0.60 | 2 | 5.00 |
| Hudson Card | 3 | -4.00 | 8 | 14.75 |
Ryan left it all out on the field in everything he did. In his honor, we bring you Fields of Gold, so that others facing bone cancer can keep on playing. A portion of proceeds from every case sold is donated to The Little Warrior Foundation.
The Little Warrior Foundation's mission is to fund & find a lasting cure for childhood cancer, with a specific focus on Ewing's Sarcoma.
https://shop.summerlandwinebrands.com/Shop/Fields-of-Gold
@Saynotobarefoot
