For starters, Im not here to tell you that he is secretly great. Im not going to tell you that your eyes are lying to you. If you watch him and come away unimpressed... Im not here to change your mind.
What I will suggest is that his stat sheet is misleading because there are a lot of things missing... most importantly is ATTEMPTS
He played in all 12 games this year and totaled the fewest pass attempts of any regular starting QB in the SEC. He averaged 19 pass attempts per game for a total of 238 attempts.
The SEC average was 27 attempts per game and for 331 total attempts on the season.
So Payton Thorne was not in a position to add numbers that would compare to the rest of the conference. What happens to his numbers if you give him those averages?
I think a conservative estimate would be that he adds 50ish completions, 700 yards, and 6 TDs. So something like: 205/331 for 2317 yards and 21 TDs. Which would put him in the top-10 in yards and top-5 in TDs.
What is more interesting to factor into this conversation is what Hugh Freeze teams have averaged over the course of his career.
In his previous 9 seasons, Hugh Freeze teams have averaged 434 passing attempts per year... that would be about 36 per game.
So if that biggest thing missing from Payton Thornes stat sheet is ATTEMPTS, the question would be more toward why was he limited and what factors were limiting to him. Does Payton Thorne look like a better QB with more opportunity? I think we somewhat saw some signs that more opportunity lead to more success for Thorne in the second half of the season.
@crococile22 @Docdumpsta @ricedp105 @grizzlyadams16 @Jeffrey Lee @BrianStultz
What I will suggest is that his stat sheet is misleading because there are a lot of things missing... most importantly is ATTEMPTS
He played in all 12 games this year and totaled the fewest pass attempts of any regular starting QB in the SEC. He averaged 19 pass attempts per game for a total of 238 attempts.
The SEC average was 27 attempts per game and for 331 total attempts on the season.
So Payton Thorne was not in a position to add numbers that would compare to the rest of the conference. What happens to his numbers if you give him those averages?
I think a conservative estimate would be that he adds 50ish completions, 700 yards, and 6 TDs. So something like: 205/331 for 2317 yards and 21 TDs. Which would put him in the top-10 in yards and top-5 in TDs.
What is more interesting to factor into this conversation is what Hugh Freeze teams have averaged over the course of his career.
In his previous 9 seasons, Hugh Freeze teams have averaged 434 passing attempts per year... that would be about 36 per game.
So if that biggest thing missing from Payton Thornes stat sheet is ATTEMPTS, the question would be more toward why was he limited and what factors were limiting to him. Does Payton Thorne look like a better QB with more opportunity? I think we somewhat saw some signs that more opportunity lead to more success for Thorne in the second half of the season.
@crococile22 @Docdumpsta @ricedp105 @grizzlyadams16 @Jeffrey Lee @BrianStultz
