PFF Volume 1 Offense: The Good, The Bad & The Interesting vs. Navy. Courtesy of @Zac Arrowood
Each week, we will explore the PFF rankings for individual players as well as look at top performers across Conference USA. Marshall’s week one offensive player of the week is…drumroll please…Luke Zban! Well, not really, however if you throw out total snap count, Luke (85.0) graded as the Herd’s top offensive performer solely due to his late game touchdown connection with EJ Horton. Now for a further look at how the Herd performed on offense according to PFF.
Quarterback:
Grant Wells ended Week 1 with an overall rating of 80.7. Keep in mind that PFF factors drops and unforced interceptions in their calculations. Statistically Wells was 20 of 30 for 324 yards with two interceptions, both intended for Corey Gammage. Grant’s NFL Passer Rating would have been 74.9 for comparison.
Running Back:
To be quite honest, I was shocked to see how relatively “poorly” our RB’s performed according to PFF. Yes, both Rasheen Ali and Sheldon Evans had issues with putting the ball on the ground, but I would have expected a higher grade, especially from Ali. PFF graded Ali at 62.3 on 28 snaps while Evans ended up at 55.1 on 18 snaps. Ali’s low grade can be attributed in large part to his poor pass blocking (28.3 according to PFF) as well as his yards per carry (4.1). Regardless of his PFF performance, Saturday showed glimpses of the potential that Ali has to be our featured back of the present and the future.
Wide Receiver:
Corey Gammage led the way in WR rankings as determined by PFF. Gammage graded at 75.1 followed by Talik Keaton at 69.6 and Shadeed Ahmed at 62.7. Our WR’s had pedestrian performances according to PFF and Willie Johnson came away with the lowest grade at 53.9.
Tight End:
If we were to combine the WR and TE positions, Xavier Gaines would have been our highest rated WR coming in with a PFF grade of 83.7. Devin Miller graded out the highest in pass blocking of our three tight ends that saw game action with a 70.1.
Offensive Line:
The offensive line was a mixed bag in terms of overall performance as graded by PFF, however, Kendrick Sartor solidified his position as our starting RT with a grade of 80.7 (78.5 run block/77.7 pass block). Sartor was followed by Logan Osburn (RG) at 67.6 overall (71.9 run block/73.4 pass block), Alex Molette (C) at 66.2 (60.4 run block/84.0 pass block), Will Ulmer (LT) at 65.9 (67.1 run block/73.9 pass block) and Alex Salguero (LG) at 52.1 (51.1 run block/46.3 pass block). Sartor, Ulmer and Salguero played 63 snaps with Molette tallying 62 and Osburn at 58.
A Look at CUSA’s Top Performers:
Top Graded QB in CUSA Week 1: Bailey Zappe from WKU at 92.5
Top Graded WR in CUSA Week 1: Bryce Singleton from FIU at 92.1
Top Graded RB in CUSA Week 1: D’vonte Price from FIU at 93.9
Top Graded TE in CUSA Week 1: Gerrit Prince from UAB at 92.3
Top Graded OL in CUSA Week 1: Zuri Henry from UTEP at 90.2
If you would like to know the grade for a specific offensive player during week one, do not hesitate to ask.
Each week, we will explore the PFF rankings for individual players as well as look at top performers across Conference USA. Marshall’s week one offensive player of the week is…drumroll please…Luke Zban! Well, not really, however if you throw out total snap count, Luke (85.0) graded as the Herd’s top offensive performer solely due to his late game touchdown connection with EJ Horton. Now for a further look at how the Herd performed on offense according to PFF.
Quarterback:
Grant Wells ended Week 1 with an overall rating of 80.7. Keep in mind that PFF factors drops and unforced interceptions in their calculations. Statistically Wells was 20 of 30 for 324 yards with two interceptions, both intended for Corey Gammage. Grant’s NFL Passer Rating would have been 74.9 for comparison.
Running Back:
To be quite honest, I was shocked to see how relatively “poorly” our RB’s performed according to PFF. Yes, both Rasheen Ali and Sheldon Evans had issues with putting the ball on the ground, but I would have expected a higher grade, especially from Ali. PFF graded Ali at 62.3 on 28 snaps while Evans ended up at 55.1 on 18 snaps. Ali’s low grade can be attributed in large part to his poor pass blocking (28.3 according to PFF) as well as his yards per carry (4.1). Regardless of his PFF performance, Saturday showed glimpses of the potential that Ali has to be our featured back of the present and the future.
Wide Receiver:
Corey Gammage led the way in WR rankings as determined by PFF. Gammage graded at 75.1 followed by Talik Keaton at 69.6 and Shadeed Ahmed at 62.7. Our WR’s had pedestrian performances according to PFF and Willie Johnson came away with the lowest grade at 53.9.
Tight End:
If we were to combine the WR and TE positions, Xavier Gaines would have been our highest rated WR coming in with a PFF grade of 83.7. Devin Miller graded out the highest in pass blocking of our three tight ends that saw game action with a 70.1.
Offensive Line:
The offensive line was a mixed bag in terms of overall performance as graded by PFF, however, Kendrick Sartor solidified his position as our starting RT with a grade of 80.7 (78.5 run block/77.7 pass block). Sartor was followed by Logan Osburn (RG) at 67.6 overall (71.9 run block/73.4 pass block), Alex Molette (C) at 66.2 (60.4 run block/84.0 pass block), Will Ulmer (LT) at 65.9 (67.1 run block/73.9 pass block) and Alex Salguero (LG) at 52.1 (51.1 run block/46.3 pass block). Sartor, Ulmer and Salguero played 63 snaps with Molette tallying 62 and Osburn at 58.
A Look at CUSA’s Top Performers:
Top Graded QB in CUSA Week 1: Bailey Zappe from WKU at 92.5
Top Graded WR in CUSA Week 1: Bryce Singleton from FIU at 92.1
Top Graded RB in CUSA Week 1: D’vonte Price from FIU at 93.9
Top Graded TE in CUSA Week 1: Gerrit Prince from UAB at 92.3
Top Graded OL in CUSA Week 1: Zuri Henry from UTEP at 90.2
If you would like to know the grade for a specific offensive player during week one, do not hesitate to ask.
