Photo Attribution: KT King
Before the rest of the season makes J.W. Walsh’s stint at quarterback a foggy memory, let’s take a snapshot at this point in the season to fully appreciate what he accomplished at the helm of Monken’s ship. To make this even more impressive, I removed Walsh’s stats against Savannah State.
Taking out the Savannah State game, here’s where Walsh currently ranks nationally in several categories. First, let’s take a look at the traditional passing stats that make up a player’s QB Rating:
| Category | Walsh | NCAA Average | Walsh National Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completion % | 66.9% | 61.5% | 23 |
| Yards / Attempt | 9.9 | 7.5 | 3 |
| TD / Attempt | 6.0% | 5.2% | 35 |
| INT / Attempt | 1.5% | 2.4% | 24 |
| QB Rating | 167.0 | 137.9 | 9 |
Walsh is one of only eight BCS-level quarterbacks that can claim top 40 in each category1.
We all know J.W. can hurt you with his legs, too. Walsh is 3rd in yards/rush among quarterbacks at 7.0 behind only Denard Robinson and Jordan Lynch of Northern Illinois.
Finally, here’s the stat that really tells the tale of how impressive Walsh has been. It’s total yards per play among QBs (passing yards + rushing yards) / (pass attempts + rush attempts). So basically, the number of yards gained each time a QB doesn’t hand off to a running back.
1. J.W. Walsh, Oklahoma St. – 9.4 yards/play
2. Nick Florence, Baylor – 9.3
3. Joel Stave, Wisconsin – 9.1
4. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas – 9.0
5. E.J. Manuel, Florida St. – 8.3
6. Aaron Murray, Georgia – 8.2
7. A.J. McCarron, Alabama – 8.0
8. Denard Robinson, Michigan – 7.8
9. Collin Klein, Kansas St. – 7.8
10. David Ash, Texas – 7.7
NCAA average: 6.7
- A.J. McCarron, Collin Klein, Geno Smith, E.J. Manuel, David Ash, Aaron Murray, and Teddy Bridgewater are the others. ↩
Man I just can’t figure out how that arm has produced those numbers. Crazy
He’s holding the ball like he’s left-handed in that pic above.
and he’s rolling out probably getting ready to unleash a beautiful ball to CM for a TD
“Stats are for losers.” Monken badger
And J.W. will be a fantastic coach someday because he definitely has “it.”
There are some guys that are just leaders and winners.
Can’t argue with any of those numbers. That is very impressive. I send my wishes of a quick and full recovery his way.
Let’s not go and give him the Davey O’Brien award just yet. Remember what some of those passes looked like? As much as I hate to say it, this is proof that our offense is a “system”. But who’s isn’t these days, right?