Rivals has continued its partnership with Pro Football Focus (PFF) which grants me access to their comprehensive analytics and statistical tools.
After each game, two separate analysts grade every player on each play of the game and the two totals are averaged out. Obviously no subjective ranking system is perfect, but I am finding that my real world impressions of a player in a certain game usually reflects the PFF grade.
PFF Grading Scale
90 and above - Elite
80 to 89 - Great
70 to 79 - Good
60 to 69 - Average to Above Average
50 - 59 - Below Average
49 and below - Poor
Team Offensive Grade (by game)
Kent State - 75.4
Overall Offensive Player Grades (Snaps Played)
QB Timmy McClain (17) - 89.7
WR Xavier Townsend (38) - 81.2
RB Johnny Richardson (33) - 80.3
RB Jordan McDonald (9) - 72.6
QB John Rhys Plumlee (64) - 72.0
RB Demarkcus Bowman (15) - 70.9
C Caden Kitler (24) - 70.1
RB RJ Harvey (36) - 68.3
RB Mark-Antony Richards (2) - 68.1
WR Kobe Hudson (45) - 66.8
LG/RG Ed Collins (17) - 66.1
RT Paul Rubelt (17) - 65.9
WR Javon Baker (52) - 65.6
WR Cullen Smith (3) - 63.9
TE Alec Holler (45) - 63.6
C Drake Metcalf (60) - 63.2
LT Tylan Grable (67) - 62.9
RG Lokahi Pauole (67) - 62.5
RT Amari Kight (17) - 62.3
LG Adrian Medley (7) - 60.9
TE Max Holler (2) - 59.5
RT Marcellus Marshall (67) - 58.6
RG Cameron Kinnie (10) - 56.7
LG Bula Schmidt (67) - 55.3
TE Randy Pittman (28) - 55.2
WR Jaylon Griffin (25) - 55.2
TE Zach Marsh-Wojan (30) - 53.3
WR Trent Whittemore (24) - 49.7
WR Jarrad Baker (26) - 48.9
WR Tyler Griffin (10) - 48.4
There were 84 total offensive snaps in the game.
Xavier Townsend had a well-rounded performance, not surprised he's at the top among starters. Townsend earned mostly below-average grades last season (almost all of his game grades were in the 50s except for FAU and Tulane CCG).
For Johnny Richardson, this was his highest grade* in a starter-type role and his 33 snaps are the most since the ECU game in 2021 (*Richardson played two snaps at GT in 2020 and received an 84.8 grade though).
Interestingly, Caden Kitler is the highest-graded offensive lineman in terms of overall grade.
Offensive Line Grades
Pass Blocking:
LT Tylan Grable (67) - 82.1
C Drake Metcalf (60) - 78.4
RT Amari Kight (17) - 77.9
LG/RG Ed Collins (17) - 76.5
LG Adrian Medley (7) - 76.3
RT Paul Rubelt (17) - 75.8
RT Marcellus Marshall (67) - 73.4
LG Bula Schmidt (67) - 70.0
C Caden Kitler (24) - 64.9
RG Lokahi Pauole (67) - 61.9
RG Cameron Kinnie (10) - N/A
Run Blocking:
C Caden Kitler (24) - 68.1
RT Paul Rubelt (17) - 63.3
LG/RG Ed Collins (17) - 64.7
C Drake Metcalf (60) - 63.0
RG Lokahi Pauole (67) - 61.8
LT Tylan Grable (67) - 59.9
LG Adrian Medley (7) - 59.4
RT Amari Kight (17) - 59.3
RG Cameron Kinnie (10) - 58.2
RT Marcellus Marshall (67) - 58.0
LG Bula Schmidt (67) - 55.5
Ed Collins split time between left guard (10) and right guard (7).
The pass blocking grades are mostly solid, though Lokahi Pauole is towards the bottom. Pauole was attributed to three QB hurries. Metcalf was attributed to giving up a sack.
Quarterback Grades
John Rhys Plumlee - 61.1 passing grade
Timmy McClain - 83.4 passing grade
Passing Pressure Grades for John Rhys Plumlee:
Kept Clean - 71.1
Under Pressure - 35.8
Not Blitzed - 58.8
When Blitzed - 65.3
A closer look at passing depth for John Rhys Plumlee:
Deep (20+): 1 of 2 for 32 yards, 1 INT - 38.4
Medium (10-19): 7 of 10 for 167 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT - 86.3
Short (0-9): 11 of 13 for 70 yards, 1 TD - 59.3
Behind LOS: 5 of 6 for 33 yards - 59.8
Just two deep throws, one of which resuled in an interception. Last year on deep balls, JRP was 17 of 48 for 612 yards, 6 TD and 3 INT.
Obviously JRP in this offense was not really known for deep shots. I thought I'd take a look at DG in the deep ball category. Under Heupel in 2019, Dillon Gabriel was 34 of 90 for 1,316 yards, 14 TD and 2 INT. Last year in 2022 under Lebby at Oklahoma, DG was 26 of 64 for 1,085 yards for 13 TD and 0 INT. In fact, Gabriel threw more deep ball TDs (13) than not (12 TDs on throws 19 yards or less).
Rushing Grades
Johnny Richardson - 81.2
John Rhys Plumlee - 80.0
Xavier Townsend - 79.7
RJ Harvey - 71.1
Demarkcus Bowman - 70.9
Timmy McClain - 69.9
Jordan McDonald - 66.6
Mark-Antony Richards - 63.2
Wide Receiver Grades
Jordan McDonald - 83.7
Xavier Townsend - 71.2
Johnny Richardson - 67.8
RJ Harvey - 67.6
Kobe Hudson - 66.7
Javon Baker - 65.1
Alec Holler - 62.8
Demarkcus Bowman - 60.0
Jaylon Griffin - 54.9
Randy Pittman - 54.8
Jarrad Baker - 53.2
Trent Whittemore - 46.8
Tyler Griffin - 44.8
Five total drops (Townsend, Javon Baker, Pittman, Whittemore and Griffin).
After each game, two separate analysts grade every player on each play of the game and the two totals are averaged out. Obviously no subjective ranking system is perfect, but I am finding that my real world impressions of a player in a certain game usually reflects the PFF grade.
PFF Grading Scale
90 and above - Elite
80 to 89 - Great
70 to 79 - Good
60 to 69 - Average to Above Average
50 - 59 - Below Average
49 and below - Poor
Team Offensive Grade (by game)
Kent State - 75.4
Overall Offensive Player Grades (Snaps Played)
QB Timmy McClain (17) - 89.7
WR Xavier Townsend (38) - 81.2
RB Johnny Richardson (33) - 80.3
RB Jordan McDonald (9) - 72.6
QB John Rhys Plumlee (64) - 72.0
RB Demarkcus Bowman (15) - 70.9
C Caden Kitler (24) - 70.1
RB RJ Harvey (36) - 68.3
RB Mark-Antony Richards (2) - 68.1
WR Kobe Hudson (45) - 66.8
LG/RG Ed Collins (17) - 66.1
RT Paul Rubelt (17) - 65.9
WR Javon Baker (52) - 65.6
WR Cullen Smith (3) - 63.9
TE Alec Holler (45) - 63.6
C Drake Metcalf (60) - 63.2
LT Tylan Grable (67) - 62.9
RG Lokahi Pauole (67) - 62.5
RT Amari Kight (17) - 62.3
LG Adrian Medley (7) - 60.9
TE Max Holler (2) - 59.5
RT Marcellus Marshall (67) - 58.6
RG Cameron Kinnie (10) - 56.7
LG Bula Schmidt (67) - 55.3
TE Randy Pittman (28) - 55.2
WR Jaylon Griffin (25) - 55.2
TE Zach Marsh-Wojan (30) - 53.3
WR Trent Whittemore (24) - 49.7
WR Jarrad Baker (26) - 48.9
WR Tyler Griffin (10) - 48.4
There were 84 total offensive snaps in the game.
Xavier Townsend had a well-rounded performance, not surprised he's at the top among starters. Townsend earned mostly below-average grades last season (almost all of his game grades were in the 50s except for FAU and Tulane CCG).
For Johnny Richardson, this was his highest grade* in a starter-type role and his 33 snaps are the most since the ECU game in 2021 (*Richardson played two snaps at GT in 2020 and received an 84.8 grade though).
Interestingly, Caden Kitler is the highest-graded offensive lineman in terms of overall grade.
Offensive Line Grades
Pass Blocking:
LT Tylan Grable (67) - 82.1
C Drake Metcalf (60) - 78.4
RT Amari Kight (17) - 77.9
LG/RG Ed Collins (17) - 76.5
LG Adrian Medley (7) - 76.3
RT Paul Rubelt (17) - 75.8
RT Marcellus Marshall (67) - 73.4
LG Bula Schmidt (67) - 70.0
C Caden Kitler (24) - 64.9
RG Lokahi Pauole (67) - 61.9
RG Cameron Kinnie (10) - N/A
Run Blocking:
C Caden Kitler (24) - 68.1
RT Paul Rubelt (17) - 63.3
LG/RG Ed Collins (17) - 64.7
C Drake Metcalf (60) - 63.0
RG Lokahi Pauole (67) - 61.8
LT Tylan Grable (67) - 59.9
LG Adrian Medley (7) - 59.4
RT Amari Kight (17) - 59.3
RG Cameron Kinnie (10) - 58.2
RT Marcellus Marshall (67) - 58.0
LG Bula Schmidt (67) - 55.5
Ed Collins split time between left guard (10) and right guard (7).
The pass blocking grades are mostly solid, though Lokahi Pauole is towards the bottom. Pauole was attributed to three QB hurries. Metcalf was attributed to giving up a sack.
Quarterback Grades
John Rhys Plumlee - 61.1 passing grade
Timmy McClain - 83.4 passing grade
Passing Pressure Grades for John Rhys Plumlee:
Kept Clean - 71.1
Under Pressure - 35.8
Not Blitzed - 58.8
When Blitzed - 65.3
A closer look at passing depth for John Rhys Plumlee:
Deep (20+): 1 of 2 for 32 yards, 1 INT - 38.4
Medium (10-19): 7 of 10 for 167 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT - 86.3
Short (0-9): 11 of 13 for 70 yards, 1 TD - 59.3
Behind LOS: 5 of 6 for 33 yards - 59.8
Just two deep throws, one of which resuled in an interception. Last year on deep balls, JRP was 17 of 48 for 612 yards, 6 TD and 3 INT.
Obviously JRP in this offense was not really known for deep shots. I thought I'd take a look at DG in the deep ball category. Under Heupel in 2019, Dillon Gabriel was 34 of 90 for 1,316 yards, 14 TD and 2 INT. Last year in 2022 under Lebby at Oklahoma, DG was 26 of 64 for 1,085 yards for 13 TD and 0 INT. In fact, Gabriel threw more deep ball TDs (13) than not (12 TDs on throws 19 yards or less).
Rushing Grades
Johnny Richardson - 81.2
John Rhys Plumlee - 80.0
Xavier Townsend - 79.7
RJ Harvey - 71.1
Demarkcus Bowman - 70.9
Timmy McClain - 69.9
Jordan McDonald - 66.6
Mark-Antony Richards - 63.2
Wide Receiver Grades
Jordan McDonald - 83.7
Xavier Townsend - 71.2
Johnny Richardson - 67.8
RJ Harvey - 67.6
Kobe Hudson - 66.7
Javon Baker - 65.1
Alec Holler - 62.8
Demarkcus Bowman - 60.0
Jaylon Griffin - 54.9
Randy Pittman - 54.8
Jarrad Baker - 53.2
Trent Whittemore - 46.8
Tyler Griffin - 44.8
Five total drops (Townsend, Javon Baker, Pittman, Whittemore and Griffin).
