Sunday morning (err, afternoon) thoughts - BYU - Printable Version

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RE: Sunday morning (err, afternoon) thoughts - BYU - Mick - 09-10-2025

I wonder if it might be changing. In 2024, there were 11 fullbacks on NFL rosters. In 2025, there are 15 fullbacks on NFL rosters, not including Tight Ends who line up in the backfield.

The State of NFL Fullbacks in 2024, Part 1: League-Wide Stats | Hogs Haven
8The State of NFL Fullbacks in 2024, Part 2: Washington Commanders | Hogs Haven

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RE: Sunday morning (err, afternoon) thoughts - BYU - Papa John - 09-10-2025

Back to the current Stanford QB situation, here are some stats from the x.com account of SuperWest Sports:

Passing Yards per Attempt thru Week 2 (D1 schools from the Mountain and Pacific time zones)
16.8—Jayden Maiava, USC
15.7—Ryan Staub, Colorado
11.9—Noah Fifita, Arizona
10.9—Dante Moore, Oregon
10.0—Anthony Colandrea, UNLV
9.8—Demond Williams Jr., UW
8.3—Devon Dampier, Utah
7.6—Maalik Murphy, Ore St
7.4—Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Cal
7.4—Maddux Madsen, Boise St
7.2—Bear Bachmeier, BYU
7.2—Kaden Anderson, Wyoming
6.9—Bryson Barnes, Utah St
6.9—Husan Longstreet, USC
6.7—Chubba Purdy, Nevada
6.5—Jaxon Potter, WSU
6.4—E.J. Warner, Fresno St
6.2—Jayden Denegal, SDSU
6.2—Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
6.0—Luke Weaver, Hawai'i
5.9—Kaidon Salter, Colorado
5.8—Walker Eget, SJSU
5.6—Sam Leavitt, ASU
5.5—Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, CSU
5.3—Jack Layne, UNM
5.2—Micah Alejado, Hawai'i
4.0—Ben Gulbranson, Stanford

@PFF QB Grades thru Week 2
91.4—Colandrea, UNLV
90.3—Maiava, USC
86.9—Fifita, Arizona
84.6—Sagapolutele, Cal
83.7—Williams Jr., Washington
81.2—Dampier, Utah
80.3—Moore, Oregon
75.5—Murphy, Ore St
73.8—Bachmeier, BYU
71.7—Iamaleava, UCLA
70.2—Madsen, Boise St
69.4—Layne, UNM
69.1—Purdy, Nevada
65.9—Potter, WSU
65.8—Salter, Colorado
65.5—Anderson, Wyoming
65.2—Denegal, SDSU
64.1—Barnes, Utah St
62.5—Warner, Fresno St
62.1—Leavitt, ASU
61.2—Eget, SJSU
55.7—Fowler-Nicolosi, CSU
55.5—Alejado, Hawai'i
47.2—Weaver, Hawai'i
29.5—Gulbranson, Stanford

Below snap minimum:

89.2—Staub, Colorado
84.0—Johnson, Air Force

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RE: Sunday morning (err, afternoon) thoughts - BYU - SkiBum80 - 09-10-2025

I posted this thought during BYU game, and repeat here.
Our woeful offense is obviously not solely to blame on our QB1.
And obviously not solely remedied by replacing with QB2.
But the QB is most important guy on the O.
And if the QB rating is perhaps the worst among all other our Offense player ratings (this I'm not sure, but guessing is at least worse than most our other O players, in comparison to others of their positions), then why would you not try replacing him?
Would we even be having this discussion if it were not the QB position but rather, say, someone on the OLine, or say a TE or WR?

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RE: Sunday morning (err, afternoon) thoughts - BYU - Goose - 09-10-2025

(09-10-2025, 09:43 AM)fullmetal Wrote:  I get that it's going out of style, which makes it, in the mold of Georgia Tech's previous triple-option offense, much more difficult to prepare for and defend.  There's a greater premium on blocking rather than speed, correct recognition and gap discipline, etc etc.  A commitment to that offense means that OL get to show off their fundamentals.

Those power-running fundamentals aren't nearly as relevant in the NFL today. The ability to move quickly and react to the defensive rush in a set of wider line splits are the "fundamentals" of today's OL play. The transition from man blocking to zone blocking is only the tip of the iceberg. There is lots more to it. Right now of course Stanford can't play either style very well but even David Shaw realized the tight formation tunnel workers were no longer viable. Today very few high schools run the "smash mouth" style. Therefore it very difficult to recruit OL based on a promise of playing this style.

Quote:An OL coming out of Stanford in the early 2010s would probably be thought of as likely having all the skills necessary to succeed at the next level.

Nope. At best they would be considered "projects" until they showed they could play in a spread offense. Of course, there are players (very few) who are so physically talented they clearly can excel in any OL scheme. Most college players realize they aren't in that category and opt for colleges playing more "current" offense.

Quote:I'm not saying Stanford's OL should neglect pass protection.  But if QB1 has a problem recognizing blitz schemes and pre-snap reads, then maybe we need to do something to help Stanford win.

If Stanford could recruit an OL to play the game JH played at Stanford, that might be a way to minimize the limitations of a poor QB1. Unfortunately we proved from 2017 on that we couldn't. We had some good linemen during that period, just way too few of them. It is even more difficult today.

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