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Author: Jeff Dean

  • 2025 SIS Preseason All-America Team

    2025 SIS Preseason All-America Team

    It’s time once again to announce our SIS College Football Pre-Season All-American Team. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our selections.

    A brief explanation of Total Points:

    Total Points takes nearly everything that SIS measures about a play and uses it to evaluate each player on a scale that allows you to compare them more easily. It’s always useful to be able to understand the different ways in which players can be valuable. Does he break a lot of tackles? Does he get a lot of yards after the catch? Does he make the best out of a poor offensive line? Does he get more pressures than expected? Does he break up a lot of passes? Total Points offers the opportunity to take all of those elements and get a quick picture of how well a player is performing overall.

    You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced within this piece here.

    Here are our selections:

    1st Team Offense

    Position Name School
    QB Drew Allar Penn State
    RB Jeremiyah Love Notre Dame
    RB Ahmad Hardy Missouri
    WR Jeremiah Smith Ohio State
    WR Antonio Williams Clemson
    TE Terrance Carter Jr. Texas Tech
    T Isaiah World Oregon
    T Paul Rubelt UCF
    G Keylan Rutledge Georgia Tech
    G Paolo Gennarelli Army
    C Brady Small Army

    Ahmad Hardy, Isaiah World, Paul Rubelt, Keylan Rutledge, and Brady Small all earned spots on our 2024 All-American team, and we expect continued great play from all of them. Drew Allar, Jeremiyah Love, and Jeremiah Smith all look poised to be a driving force for their respective teams as they make a push for the College Football Playoff. 

    Antonio Williams and Paolo Gennarelli are some of the top returning players at their respective positions, and Terrance Carter Jr. will look to continue his level of play on a bigger stage. Every player on our 1st Team Offense is Top 3 in Total Points at their position among returning players.

    1st Team Defense

    Position Name School
    DT Zane Durant Penn State
    DT Skyler Gill-Howard Texas Tech
    EDGE TJ Parker Clemson
    EDGE Colin Simmons Texas
    LB Whit Weeks LSU
    LB Isaiah Glasker BYU
    CB D’Angelo Ponds Indiana
    CB Chandler Rivers Duke
    CB Christian Gray Notre Dame
    S Caleb Downs Ohio State
    S Kerry Brown Minnesota

    TJ Parker, Whit Weeks, D’Angelo Ponds, and Kerry Brown headline the all defensive team as the lone returners from the 2024 All-American team. Parker and Weeks both lead the country in returning Total Points at their respective positions. The 2024 season saw a star studded defensive tackle class head to the NFL, as Zane Durant and Skyer Gill-Howard fill the interior. Colin Simmons rounds out the defensive line after a stellar freshman season, leading all edge rushers in Total Points per Snap. 

    The Big Ten is also well represented in the secondary as Ponds and Brown are joined by star safety Caleb Downs, who is returning to lead the reigning National Champion, Ohio State Buckeyes. Christian Gray, Isaiah Glasker, and Chandler Rivers fill out the rest of the defense and look to build on their impressive 2024 seasons. 

    1st Team Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Dominic Zvada Michigan
    P Rhys Dakin Iowa
    Returner Kaden Wetjen Iowa

    Kaden Wetjen was on our 2024 All-American team, and he is in line for another big season. His teammate, Rhys Dakin, looks to continue Iowa’s special teams dominance, especially in the punting game. Dominic Zvada narrowly missed out on our post season team, but expectations are very high in Ann Arbor.

    2nd Team Offense

    Position Name School
    QB Cade Klubnik Clemson
    RB Jonah Coleman Washington
    RB Makhi Hughes Oregon
    WR Ryan Williams Alabama
    WR Elijah Sarratt Indiana
    TE Eli Stowers Vanderbilt
    T Aamil Wagner Notre Dame
    T Dorion Strawn Texas State
    G Jordan White Vanderbilt
    G Olaivavega Ioane Penn State
    C Ryan Linthicum Clemson

    Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and Ryan Linthicum headline the 2nd Team Offense as they lead the ACC in Total Points at their respective positions. Jonah Coleman, Makai Hughes, Elijah Surratt, and Olaivaega Ioane all return in a loaded Big Ten conference in 2025. 

    Eli Stowers and Jordan White look to improve upon their 2024 campaigns and help get Vanderbilt to achieve back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in over a decade. Aamil Wagner and Dorion Strawn bookend the offense line and look to repeat their dominant 2024 seasons. 

    2nd Team Defense

    Position Name School
    DT Lee Hunter Texas Tech
    DT Gracen Halton Oklahoma
    EDGE Eric O’Neill Rutgers
    EDGE Mikail Kamara Indiana
    LB Anthony Hill Jr. Texas
    LB Wade Woodaz Clemson
    CB Davison Igbinosun Ohio State
    CB Xavier Scott Illinois
    S Isaiah Nwokobia SMU
    S Adon Shuler Notre Dame
    S Koi Perich Minnesota

    Lee Hunter and Eric O’Neill found new homes this offseason, but will look to be equally productive as last season. Gracen Halton and Koi Perich are in line for much bigger roles after putting up very impressive numbers in limited action. Mikail Kamara, Xavier Scott, Isaiah Nwokobia, and Adon Shuler were impact players last season and could be even better this season. 

    Anthony Hill Jr. and Wade Woodaz are two of the most versatile and impactful defenders in all of college football. If Davison Igbinosun can limit the penalties this season, he may find himself on the postseason 1st Team Defense.

    2nd Team Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Peyton Woodring Georgia
    P Tyler White Texas A&M
    Returner Jalen Moss Arizona State

    Peyton Woodring was tied for 1st in returning Total Points for Kickers in all of college football. Tyler White returns to Texas A&M after an impressive 2024 season, forcing the most fair catches in the SEC while having the least amount of punts returned as well. Jalen Moss is looking to make an impact as a returner for Arizona State, after spending the 2024 season at Fresno State.

  • Andy Reid’s Best Coaching Job and Other Things We Learned From Coaching Wins Over Expected

    Andy Reid’s Best Coaching Job and Other Things We Learned From Coaching Wins Over Expected

    Photo: John Byrum/Icon Sportswire

    When you win 15 games in the regular season, as the Chiefs did in 2024, you need a lot of things to go right. But things going right has been a trademark of the Andy Reid regime, Patrick Mahomes or no Patrick Mahomes (we’ll explain in a second).

    SIS has created an expected wins stat that measures how many games a team should have won based on the comprehensive suite of things that we measure from every play of every game. It utilizes a summed version of each player on a roster’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR, which emanates from our player value stat, Total Points).

    To restate, this is not a projection of future wins—this is using the players’ performance on the field as a measure of the team’s quality and converting that to an expected wins number.

    By those measures, these Chiefs were expected to win 9.8 games this season. They won 15. That’s a 5.2-win gap between actual and expected wins, which we’ll call Wins Over Expected (and somewhat-contradictorily shorten to WOE). That’s the biggest differential between actual and expected wins of any team back to 2016, the first year we started tracking football.

    The next-best is the 4.4 Wins Over Expected by Reid’s Chiefs in 2016, the year before Mahomes joined the team. Reid has three of the top six seasons in that time.

    Admittedly there are some limitations when using this stat to evaluate coaches. It can’t capture everything a head coach does. It can help show how influential timeouts, challenges, substitutions, playcalls, etc. can be, but it does not incorporate the coach’s influence in practices, drafting, free agency acquisitions, etc.

    Top Coaching Seasons

    Here are the seasons in which a team most surpassed its expected win total.

    Top Individual Seasons since 2016

    Season Coach Wins Over Expected
    2024 Chiefs Andy Reid 5.2

    (15-9.8)
    2016 Chiefs Andy Reid 4.4

    (12-7.6)
    2022 Vikings Kevin O’Connell 4.4

    (13-8.6)
    2016 Texans Bill O’Brien 4.3

    (9-4.7)
    2019 Texans Bill O’Brien 4.0

    (10.0-6.0)
    2020 Chiefs Andy Reid 3.7

    (14-10.3)

    As noted, Reid, who often polls as one of the NFL’s best coaches, has three of the top six seasons in that time (two with Mahomes). Kevin O’Connell led the Vikings to a very surprising finish in 2022 and received heaps of praise for his immediate impact during his first season as a head coach.

    The coach that is not thought of in the same breath as Reid and O’Connell is Bill O’Brien. Off-the-field issues are not a part of the metric, but during his first six seasons as the Texans head coach he finished at least two games above .500 every year except one. Additionally, our metric suggests that the Texans lacked a lot of high-end valuable players and were expected to finish at or under .500 every year, making what they did under O’Brien all the more impressive.

    Worst Coaching Seasons

    The bottom of the list is interesting for different reasons.

    Worst Individual Seasons since 2016

    Season Coach Wins Over Expected
    2019 Cowboys Jason Garrett -5.2

    (8-13.2)
    2016 Saints Sean Payton -4.2

    (7-11.2)
    2023 Bills Sean McDermott -4.1

    (11-15.1)
    2016 Chargers Mike McCoy -4.0

    (5.0-9.0)
    2016 Panthers Ron Rivera -4.0

    (6.0-10.0)
    2017 Browns Hue Jackson -3.9

    (0-3.9)

    One of the first things that stands out is that almost all of these teams were supposed to be good or even exceptional based on player performance (except the Browns). Of the top coaches, there were a mix of teams that were supposed to miss the playoffs as well as playoff teams.

    Sean McDermott is the only coach on this list still with his team. On the other side, Jason Garrett was fired after the 2019 season, Mike McCoy was fired after the 2016 season, and Hue Jackson was fired midway through the following 2018 season.

    This data set is certainly interesting to look at, but coaches and teams have ups and downs. Sean Payton followed up a 2016 season in which the Saints were four wins below expectations with four straight playoff berths, and Ron Rivera made the playoffs the year after his Panthers were four wins below expectations as well. To look at coaches, it makes sense to look at their career in cumulative terms.

    Most and Fewest Total Wins Over Expected since 2016

     

    Coach Total Wins Over Expected
    Mike Vrabel 10.1
    Mike Tomlin 9.9
    Pete Carroll 9.7
    Kevin O’Connell 8.1
    Bill O’Brien 7.9
    		 

    Coach Total Wins Over Expected
    Doug Marrone -9.6
    Bruce Arians -9.2
    Anthony Lynn -7.7
    Hue Jackson -7.1
    Doug Pederson -6.5

    As noted earlier, O’Brien and O’Connell had multiple seasons where they greatly exceeded expectations, so it is not a surprise to see them at the top of the list of coaches with the most excess wins. Mike Tomlin and Pete Carroll are both Super-Bowl-winning head coaches with sustained success.

    New Patriots coach Mike Vrabel being No. 1 may be a little bit of a surprise, but he overperformed his team’s expected wins in five of his six seasons as the Titans head coach. The only season the team underperformed was his last. If you hear anyone say that Vrabel gets the most out of his players, think back to his presence atop the list here.

    Reid actually didn’t make this list, as despite those three great seasons for exceeding expectations, the sum of his other six dropped him below the top five. He’s 7th at + 7.3.

    The bottom coaches are a wild mix. Doug Marrone and Hue Jackson are not surprises as they both had a lot of losses in a short amount of time and were quickly shown the door. Anthony Lynn had ups and downs, but his team underperformed in his final two seasons. The other two coaches are very interesting as they both won the Super Bowl. Bruce Arians lost a lot of wins due to some really high expectations for his teams. Even the 2021 Buccaneers, who were expected to win 13.8 games, technically underperformed with 13 wins. Also, the 2020 Buccaneers were expected to win 14.7 games, and won only 11 during the regular season, the biggest ding on Arians’ ledger.

    Doug Pederson has eight seasons of coaching in the dataset and is split with four seasons with positive Wins Over Expected and four seasons with negative Wins Over Expected. While the total number of seasons on each side of the ledger is equal, the impact is not. Pederson’s highest WOE was with the 2018 Eagles, who finished 1.2 Wins Over Expected. On the other side, in all four of Pederson’s negative seasons his team finished at least -1.8 Wins Over Expected, the worst being the 2024 Jaguars at -3.3 WOE.

    One interesting coach who was JUST off the bottom is Kyle Shanahan, who has -6.3 Wins Over Expected. Shanahan is often thought of as one of the greatest coaches in the NFL currently, but, according to the metric, he often underperforms. His teams are often loaded with top-end skill position players, and despite how highly one would rank Brock Purdy in terms of NFL quarterbacks, he is not a negative asset to his teams.

    Shanahan has eight seasons in the dataset as well, but amazingly, only two are above zero. As is the case with some other coaches, the expected wins for some of his teams were really high. His worst season was with the 2023 49ers, whose expected wins were 14.6, and they won “only” 12 games (-2.6 WOE), but his next three worst seasons had lower expectations. The 2020 and 2024 49ers were expected to win roughly eight games, they only won six each year, and the 2018 49ers were expected to win five when they only won four.

    One issue with that current list is it does not account for time. Bad coaches are usually fired and good coaches are usually with a team for longer. The final list helps control for that by averaging the Total Wins Over Expected across three seasons. So for everyone with at least 16 games coached, this is what we’d expect from them in 3×17 = 51 games. 

    Most and Fewest Total Wins Expected per Three Seasons since 2016

     

    Coach WOE/3 Seasons
    Kevin O’Connell 8.1
    Dave Canales 7.4
    DeMeco Ryans 7.0
    Brian Flores 5.5
    Bill O’Brien 5.2
    		 

    Coach WOE/3 Seasons
    Mike McCoy -12.9
    Hue Jackson -7.6
    Lovie Smith -7.4
    Brian Callahan -7.3
    John Fox -6.3

    O’Brien makes the list again with two highly-thought-of young coaches, O’Connell and DeMeco Ryans, joining him on the list. Dave Canales has only one season under his belt so there is still plenty to figure out, but he did earn 2.5 WOE from this past season with the Panthers. Also included in the top-five is Brian Flores who earned positive WOE in each of his three seasons as the Dolphins head coach.

    Most of the bottom coaches do not have a robust dataset since 2016 for the reason mentioned earlier: head coaches with bad results tend to get fired quickly. Mike McCoy and Lovie Smith have only one season in the dataset and both performed well under expected. Titans head coach Brian Callahan also has one season, but it was only his first so there may be time to turn things around, especially if they hit on their 2025 NFL Draft picks. John Fox and Hue Jackson both have three seasons, although Jackson did not finish his third, but both were shown the door.

    It is not easy to try and determine what makes a good NFL head coach. There are so many intangibles that make it difficult to separate out the raw data coupled with an uneven player talent pool. But nonetheless, we try with Wins Over Expected to measure some of it in aggregate.

    Reid has turned productive Wins over Expected seasons into Super Bowl trophies, which is why, even if the metric makes it seem close, people do not think about Andy Reid in the same manner as Bill O’Brien.

  • 2024 Rookie Draft Class Evaluation: Which Teams Got The Most Value Out Of Their Rookies?

    2024 Rookie Draft Class Evaluation: Which Teams Got The Most Value Out Of Their Rookies?

    While draft classes can’t be properly evaluated until roughly three years after the draft, it can provide some context to look at their immediate impacts. Some teams focus their draft capital on players who can contribute immediately, while others use their draft capital on players who they can develop into contributors farther down the road. 

    Here are the 2024 rankings for each NFL rookie class in our player value stat, Total Points.

    (learn more about this stat here)

    2024 Total Points Leaders – NFL Rookie Classes

    Team Total Points
    1. Commanders 182
    2. Rams 174
    3. Broncos 131
    4. 49ers 125
    5. Buccaneers 124
    6. Chargers 116
    7. Bears 104
    8. Giants 103
    9. Texans 95
    10. Steelers 89
    11. Jaguars 86
    12. Cardinals 81
    13. Raiders 79
    14. Titans 78
    15. Patriots 77
    16. Saints 75
    17. Packers 73
    18. Eagles 72
    19. Bills 58
    20.Cowboys 57
    21. Ravens 53
    22. Bengals 52
    T23. Colts 51
    T23. Seahawks 51
    T. 25 Chiefs 48
    26 Panthers 47
    T27. Jets 36
    T27. Lions 36
    29. Dolphins 31
    30. Falcons 27
    31. Browns 22
    32. Vikings 20

    Though 7 of the top 10 teams in Total Points from rookies made the playoffs, there wasn’t necessarily a clear pattern. Of the teams in the bottom half in this stat, seven made the playoffs, including three pretty prominent teams in the bottom 10 (Chiefs, Lions, Vikings). It certainly helps to have great rookies, but it isn’t the end-all, be-all.  Playoff teams are spread throughout the rankings as are the teams who had a less-than-ideal year. 

    Starting at the top, the Commanders’ numbers were carried greatly by Jayden Daniels who ranked 5th among all quarterbacks with 113 Total Points and was named our Offensive Rookie of the Year, but they also got double-digit Total Points from Brandon Coleman, Jer’Zhan Newton, and Mike Sainristil (who ranked in the Top 20 among cornerbacks with 34) for a well-rounded class. 

    The Rams, who won our Rookie Class of the Year, didn’t have a single rookie earn 50 Total Points, but they did have seven players amass at least 10 Total Points; Jared Verse (who ranked 3rd among defensive ends and also earned an All-Pro nod from our staff), Jordan Whittington, Beaux Limmer, Braden Fiske, Omar Speights, Jaylen McCollough, and Kamren Kinchens. 

    The Broncos, 49ers, and Buccaneers round out the Top 5. The Broncos were heavily carried by Bo Nix (who ranked 6th among quarterbacks overall), but did have one other player in double figures, Kris Abrams-Draine. The 49ers had their Total Points spread around with Dominick Puni, Evan Anderson, Renardo Green, and Malik Mustapha all finishing the season with at least 10 Total Points and Puni, Green, and Mustapha finishing with at least 30. In 5th place, the Buccaneers had Bucky Irving (who finished 3rd among all RBs in Total Points), Graham Barton, and Tykee Smith all finish with at least 25 Total Points for another balanced rookie class.

    In total, eight teams finished with 100+ Total Points from their rookies and eight finished with fewer than 50 Total Points. The Jets and Lions tied for the 5th-fewest Total Points from their rookies, but had extremely different seasons. 

    The Jets struggled this season, and they had very little help from their rookies with only Olu Fashanu and Leonard Taylor III getting more than 6 Total Points (each had 14). The Lions had one of their best seasons in team history despite Terrion Arnold being the only rookie with more than 2 Total Points (he had 34, which put him right around the Top 20 for cornerbacks overall).

    The Dolphins and Falcons ranked 29th and 30th in Total Points from rookies, respectively. While Chop Robinson came on late in the season, he was the only Dolphins’ rookie to finish with at least 10 Total Points. Similarly, Michael Penix Jr. was the only Falcons’ rookie to do the same despite not starting until late in the season.

    The Browns rookie class, which ranked next-to-last in Total Points, didn’t have any rookies generate double-digit Total Points, although with only 2 picks in the Top 150 of last year’s draft, not much was expected from this group. 

    The same can’t be said for the Vikings who finish plum-last with a measly 20 Total Points generated from their rookie class this year. While their top draft pick was out for the season before it began, few rookies made any impact at all. Only two rookies finished with more than 1 Total Point, and their leaders were Dallas Turner with 10 and Will Reichard with 7.

    As stated at the beginning, to properly evaluate a draft class, patience is needed as it usually takes three or so years to really sort through what happened. SIS does evaluations of draft classes three years afterwards (the 2021 draft class was evaluated last year), and this one could change wildly in the next couple of years, but as far as immediate returns go, there was a clear separation between the top teams and the bottom teams.

  • 2024 SIS NFL All-Pro Team

    2024 SIS NFL All-Pro Team

    It’s time to unveil our All-Pro team for the 2024 NFL season. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our selections.

    A brief explanation of Total Points:

    Total Points takes nearly everything that SIS measures about a play and uses it to evaluate each player on a scale that allows you to compare them more easily. It’s always useful to be able to understand the different ways in which players can be valuable. Does he break a lot of tackles? Does he get a lot of yards after the catch? Does he make the best out of a poor offensive line? Does he get more pressures than expected? Does he break up a lot of passes? Total Points offers the opportunity to take all of those elements and get a quick picture of how well a player is performing overall.

    You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced within this piece here.

    1st Team Offense

    Position Name Team
    QB Lamar Jackson Ravens
    RB Derrick Henry Ravens
    RB Jahmyr Gibbs Lions
    WR Justin Jefferson Vikings
    WR Ja’Marr Chase Bengals
    TE George Kittle 49ers
    T Brian O’Neill Vikings
    T Tristan Wirfs Buccaneers
    G Landon Dickerson Eagles
    G Kevin Zeitler Lions
    C Hjalte Froholdt Cardinals

    QB – Lamar Jackson – Ravens

    Jackson had yet another MVP-caliber season, and unlike previous years, he did most of his damage in the air. He led the NFL in Passing Total Points per Play, EPA, Boom%, and Points Above Average. Only Joe Burrow had more Passing Total Points than Jackson, but Jackson easily outperformed Burrow as a rusher. – Anthony Haage

    RB – Derrick Henry – Ravens 

    Henry added on to his Hall of Fame career in his first season with the Ravens. Not only did he lead the league with 46 Rushing Total Points, he led the league in yards after contact with 1,096 yards, which accounts for more than half of his total rushing yards on the season. While he finished second in total rushing yards with 1,921, behind only Saquon Barkley, he finished the season atop the RB leaderboard with 94 1st Downs gained, and 66 total broken and missed tackles combined. – Jordan Edwards

    RB – Jahmyr Gibbs – Lions

    Gibbs, also known as “Sonic”, capped off a breakout second season with a 4-TD performance in the season finale against the Vikings where he showed his capabilities as a lead back after splitting the workload with David Montgomery. Gibbs led all running backs in Total Points. Among all RBs with at least 50 carries, he led the league in Total Points per Play and Points Above Average per Play. – JD Allen

    From our R&D team: If you’re wondering why Gibbs was picked over over Barkley, from a statistical perspective, Gibbs has several advantages

    –  More rush EPA on considerably fewer attempts 

    – A better first down rate

    –  A little better boom/bust ratio 

    (“boom” being plays worth at least 1 EPA, “bust” being plays worth -1 EPA). 

    – Gibbs also had a 14-point edge in Total Points on plays in which the offensive line blew a block (there were 34 plays for him, 36 for Barkley). That’s a significant differential.

    WR – Justin Jefferson – Vikings

    Jefferson was one of the easier selections on this team as he torched the NFL this season. His base stats are extremely impressive with 103 receptions, 1533 yards, and 10 TDs, but diving into the stats makes them look even better. He had an NFL-leading 28 receptions of 20+ yards (7 better than 2nd place), led the NFL in air yards, and pass interference calls drawn. – Jeff Dean

    WR – Ja’Marr Chase – Bengals 

    Chase had a monumental season for the Bengals, finishing 1st among all pass catchers with 1,708 receiving yards and 17 TDs. In terms of Receiving Total Points, he finished 2nd among all WRs in the league with 35. – Jared Maslin

    TE – George Kittle – 49ers

    Kittle had the definition of an All-Pro season for a tight end in 2024. He easily led all tight ends in Total Points, led all players in Receiving Total Points, and he also was the league’s best run-blocking tight end. He did so while being the only receiver with less than 100 targets (94) in the Top 5. Rashod Bateman was the only player who outperformed Kittle in Boom%. – Anthony Haage

    T – Brian O’Neill – Vikings

    An unheralded stud on the Vikings offense was their right tackle, O’Neill. He tied for the most Total Points among tackles with 38, and he was remarkably balanced, finishing Top-12 in both Pass Blocking Total Points and Run Blocking Total Points. His standout 1.9% Blown Block Rate further cemented his place as one of the top tackles in the NFL. – Jeff Dean

    T – Tristan Wirfs – Buccaneers

    Wirfs had yet another stellar season for the Buccaneers. He led all left tackles in Pass Blocking Total Points and Points Above Replacement. Given his pass blocking prowess combined with elite penalty avoidance and a top tier blown block rate, there is no debate over Wirfs’ inclusion in our All-Pro 1st team. – Conner Hrabal

    G – Landon Dickerson – Eagles

    Dickerson reinforced his elite status by leading all offensive linemen with 40 Total Points. He was particularly dominant in regards to his run blocking and his 11.5 Run Blocking Total Points, which landed him at the top of the NFL for the second consecutive season. Among left guards, he had the lowest Blown Block Rate, highest Total Points per Snap, and highest Points Above Replacement. – Kyle Shatto

    G – Kevin Zeitler – Lions

    Zeitler had a tremendous first season with the Lions as he finished 2nd among all offensive guards in Total Points with 39. He was the lone guard to finish inside the Top-5 in Pass Blocking Total Points and Run Blocking Total Points, finishing 2nd and 5th, respectively. The veteran guard has shown no signs of slowing down in his 14th NFL season. – JD Allen

    C – Hjalte Froholdt – Cardinals

    Froholdt was a rock for the Cardinals this season. He led all centers in Total Points, Total Points per Snap, Points Above Average, Points Above Average per Snap, and Points Above Replacement (minimum 700 snaps). While one of the more surprising selections, he absolutely earned it. – Conner Hrabal

    1st Team Defense

    Position Name Team
    DT Jeffery Simmons Titans
    DT Cameron Heyward Steelers
    EDGE Jonathan Greenard Vikings
    EDGE Myles Garrett Browns
    LB Zach Baun Eagles
    LB Kaden Elliss Falcons
    CB Derek Stingley Jr. Texans
    CB Pat Surtain II Broncos
    CB Marlon Humphrey Ravens
    S Kerby Joseph Lions
    S Julian Love Seahawks

    DT – Jeffery Simmons – Titans

    Simmons absolutely toyed with offensive linemen this season. He finished the season with 51 Total Points, tops among defensive tackles. He finished 4th in Pass Rush Total Points per Snap and 1st in Run Defense Total Points per Snap, showing extreme effectiveness in all areas of the game. Simmons is truly one of the best players in the game today. – Jeff Dean

    DT – Cameron Heyward – Steelers 

    Heyward put together another great season on the Steelers defensive line. He finished 2nd for all DTs in Pass Rushing Total Points with 28 and 4th in Run Defense Total Points with another 18. He also finished T-4th with 47 pressures and 5th in Tackles per Game with 4.2 Tkl/G for all DTs. – Chad Tedder

    ED – Jonathan Greenard – Vikings

    The Vikings defense took a big step forward this season, and while his teammate Van Ginkel may get a little more attention, Greenard was a force on the edge all season. He finished the season with 12 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 passes batted/deflected. His 50 Total Points led Edge players. He finished T-7th in pressures with 68. – Jeff Dean

    ED – Myles Garrett – Browns

    Garrett was second in the league in sacks this year with 14. He also had tied for the 5th-most pressures in the league with 69. Garrett is as consistent as they come year after year, as this was his seventh year in a row with 10 or more sacks and his fourth consecutive year with a Pressure Percentage over 16%. – Ryan Rubinstein

    LB – Zach Baun – Eagles

    Yet another Howie Roseman success story, Baun made a key position switch to linebacker this past offseason and hasn’t turned back since. He ranked 2nd among linebackers with 23 Total Points against the run, he took a monumental step forward in solidifying his role in the NFL as a premier linebacker. – Kyle Shatto

    LB – Kaden Elliss – Falcons 

    Elliss put together a quietly good season for the Falcons, coming in at 6th among all LBs with 148 total tackles. He finished 6th in Pass Defense Total Points with 20. Elliss also contributed to the Falcons pass rush as he finished T-5th among all LBs with 11 knockdowns on opposing passers. – Jared Maslin

    CB – Derek Stingley Jr. – Texans 

    Stingley Jr. had his best season yet in his young NFL career. The former top-5 pick ranked 3rd at cornerback with 35 Pass Defense Total Points only trailing the other two 1st-Team selections, Marlon Humprey and Patrick Surtain respectively. He also was tied for 3rd among cornerbacks in total interceptions with 5. He led all cornerbacks with 16 passes defended and was not called for any pass interference penalties all season. – Jordan Edwards

    CB – Patrick Surtain II – Broncos

    One of the easiest selections for the team was Surtain. He led all CBs with 52 Total Points, and was also effective on a per-snap basis, finishing 2nd in Pass Defense Total Points per Snap. He had a QBR Against of just 68.4 when targeted, and his 32 Points Above Replacement were one of the highest among all NFL defenders this season. – Jeff Dean

    CB – Marlon Humphrey – Ravens 

    Humphrey continues to impress as he put together yet another stellar season for the Ravens. The star corner led all of their defenders with 47 Pass Defense Total Points, and he had an EPA of -25 when targeted. He proved that he can also take the ball away as he finished T-2nd in the league for Interceptions with 6 total, including a pick-6.  – Jared Maslin

    S – Kerby Joseph – Lions

    Joseph cemented himself as one of the elite safeties in the NFL with 55 Pass Defense Total Points, thanks to a league-leading 9 interceptions. He blew away the safety competition with the next-closest safety having 38 Pass Defense Total Points. To compare, the difference between him and 2nd is the same as between 2nd and 20th. He proved he’s not just a ball-hawk this season, finishing 14th in Run Defense Total Points among all safeties. – JD Allen

    S – Julian Love – Seahawks 

    Love finished 2nd to Joseph in Total Points among safeties. He ranked 7th among all safeties in Pass Defense Total Points with 32 points. While he finished the season with only 3 INTs, he was tied with second place among safeties in passes defended with 8. Not only was Love one of the best pass defenders at the position, he also led all safeties in Run Defense Total Points with 28. – Jordan Edwards

    1st Team Specialists

    Position Name Team
    K Chris Boswell Steelers
    P Tommy Townsend Texans
    Returner KaVontae Turpin Cowboys

    K – Chris Boswell – Steelers

    Boswell was next to automatic this year, hitting 93% of his FG Attempts. He did not miss a single extra point this season, going a perfect 35/35. He missed 3 kicks all season (2 from 50+yards), and ranked second in the league in 50+ yard FG made with 13. – Ryan Rubinstein

    P – Tommy Townsend – Texans 

    Townsend was a weapon this season in setting up the defense for success. He led the league in punts inside the 20 with 31. He also finished 4th in net average punt yards with 44.9 yards per punt. – Chad Tedder

    RET – KaVontae Turpin – Cowboys

    Turpin had another dominant year as a returner, specifically on kickoffs where he took full advantage of the new kickoff rules by accumulating 904 yards and a touchdown. He tacked on another 188 yards on punt returns as well, making him the only player to have over 1,000 return yards in the 2024 season. He was also the only player this season to score both a kickoff return touchdown and a punt return touchdown. – Chad Tedder

    2nd Team Offense

    Position Name Team
    QB Joe Burrow Bengals
    RB Saquon Barkley Eagles
    WR Amon-Ra St. Brown Lions
    WR Drake London Falcons
    WR Brian Thomas Jr. Jaguars
    TE Trey McBride Cardinals
    T Dion Dawkins Bills
    T Lane Johnson Eagles
    G Joe Thuney Chiefs
    G Quinn Meinerz Broncos
    C Creed Humphrey Chiefs

    QB – Joe Burrow – Bengals

    Burrow returned from his 2023 wrist injury with a career year. He topped the charts in the traditional counting stats, throwing for a league-leading 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns, while also leading the league in Total Points at quarterback. – Conner Hrabal 

    RB – Saquon Barkley – Eagles

    Barkley’s historic season was one to remember, as he was just the 9th running back to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in NFL history. If the absurd backwards hurdle wasn’t enough to make our All-Pro 2nd Team, Barkley also broke out for at least 150 rushing yards in five separate games this season, the most for a running back since Adrian Peterson in 2012. – Kyle Shatto

    WR – Amon-Ra St. Brown – Lions 

    St. Brown produced another great season in 2024, finishing T-3rd among receivers with 34 Total Points. He led all WRs in Total EPA with 81, and led the league in EPA Per Target, among all WRs with at least 50 targets. He finished 2nd in Positive Play Percentage at 69%. – JD Allen

    WR – Drake London – Falcons 

    London was yet another young wide receiver to follow the trend of making the jump to great in their 3rd season. He finished the year 4th in the NFL with 1,271 receiving yards while finishing top-8 among wide receivers in receiving touchdowns (9) and Total Points (30). – Jeremy Percy

    WR – Brian Thomas Jr. – Jaguars

    Fellow SIS All-Rookie 1st-Team members Brock Bowers and Malik Nabers got most of the spotlight for pass-catching rookies this season, but Thomas gets the nod for our All-Pro 2nd-Team. Only Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson had more receiving yards than Thomas, and they had 42 and 21 more targets than him, respectively. Thomas ranked 5th in Total Points among all receivers, which is even more impressive considering Trevor Lawrence played only about half the season. – Anthony Haage

    TE – Trey McBride – Cardinals

    McBride had a stellar season for Arizona and ended as the 11th-best receiver in terms of Total Points and ranked 10th in EPA. He didn’t get into the end zone until the final two games of the season, but he finished with 13 games played with either 5+ receptions or 70+ receiving yards. In addition to his receiving totals, he ranked as the 3rd-best blocking tight end overall for Blocking Total Points, and he ranked first in Points Above Replacement. – Anthony Haage

    T – Dion Dawkins – Bills 

    Dion Dawkins was spectacular this season as the blind side protector for the Bills’ high-powered offense. Dawkins led all offensive tackles in Total Points this season with 38. He finished top-5 among left tackles in Pass Blocking Total Points and 2nd at his position in Run Blocking Total Points. – Jeremy Percy

    T – Lane Johnson – Eagles

    Johnson continued to be a reliable force on the stout Eagles’ offensive line, limiting Blown Blocks to a lowly 1.6% rate, good for second best among all tackles (minimum 100 snaps). He amassed 32 Total Points and earned a spot on our All-Pro 2nd Team. – Kyle Shatto

    G – Joe Thuney – Chiefs

    Thuney has been a constant along the interior for the Chiefs since joining them in 2021. Thuney ranked 2nd in Pass Blocking Total Points and finished top 10 in Total Points and Points Above Replacement among left guards. – Conner Hrabal

    G – Quinn Meinerz – Broncos

    Meinerz put together another great year in the Broncos offensive line. He finished 6th among all OL in Total Points (3rd among all guards) with 37. He also finished top 10 for all OL (4th among all guards) in Points Above Replacement and limited his Blown Block Rate to 1.6% as well. – Chad Tedder

    C – Creed Humphrey – Chiefs

    Humphrey was an anchor on the Chiefs interior line. He was first among all linemen in Passing Blown Block Rate with 0.6% (minimum 400 pass blocking snaps). He was also top-10 in Rushing Blown Block Rate among centers (minimum 200 run blocking snaps), and 5th in Total Points among centers. – Ryan Rubinstein

    2nd Team Defense

    Position Name Team
    DT Chris Jones Chiefs
    DT Jalen Carter Eagles
    EDGE Jared Verse Rams
    EDGE Trey Hendrickson Bengals
    LB Zaire Franklin Colts
    LB Bobby Wagner Commanders
    CB Christian Gonzalez Patriots
    CB Kenny Moore II Colts
    S Xavier McKinney Packers
    S Kyle Hamilton Ravens
    S Geno Stone Bengals

    DT – Chris Jones – Chiefs

    It’s no surprise to see Chris Jones on one of the SIS All-Pro teams again. He led all defensive tackles in Pass Rush Total Points with 30. Additionally, while he finished with only 5 sacks in the regular season, the nine-year veteran once again wreaked havoc against offensive line units as he tied Osa Odighizua of the Cowboys for the lead among defensive tackles with 61 pressures. – Jordan Edwards

    DT – Jalen Carter – Eagles

    Carter terrorized offensive lines all season. He finished 4th among defensive tackles in Total Points and finished in the top-5 among all DTs in both Run Defense Total Points and Pass Rush Total Points. His unique, violent pass rush style allowed him to accumulate 47 pressures on the year. – Kyle Shatto

    ED – Jared Verse – Rams 

    The rookie Verse took the league by storm and put together an All-Pro caliber season. He finished 2nd in pressures among all defenders with 72, trailing only All-Pro Trey Hendrickson. He seemed to always find a way to get to opposing quarterbacks. He also was a force against opposing rushers, as he finished 1st among all DEs with 21 Run Defense Total Points. – Jared Maslin

    ED – Trey Hendrickson – Bengals 

    Hendrickson put together another stellar season, as he seemed to terrorize opposing quarterbacks. He finished 1st in Pass Rush Total Points with 39, while leading all defenders in pressures with 85, 13 more than 2nd place. Hendrickson was also the league leader in sacks with 17.5, which was 3.5 more than 2nd place. – Jared Maslin

    LB – Zaire Franklin – Colts 

    Zaire Franklin was a tackling machine this season, pacing the entire league in total tackles with 173, 10 tackles more than the next highest defender. He also finished tied for 2nd in the NFL in forced fumbles with 5. Franklin picked off 2 passes, which is tied for the league lead at his position, and contributed 21 Pass Defense Total Points, good for 5th among linebackers. – Jeremy Percy

    LB – Bobby Wagner – Commanders 

    Wagner proved again why he is headed to the Hall of Fame with another fantastic season in year 13. Wagner finished 5th among linebackers in Total Points. He ranked third in Run Defense Total Points among linebackers. He also led all linebackers with 91 of his 132 tackles being short of the 1st down marker. – Jordan Edwards

    CB – Christian Gonzalez – Patriots

    As a second-year pro, Gonzalez ranked 3rd among cornerbacks in Total Points. He had 29 Pass Defense Total Points and 12 Points Above Average which ranked Top-8 among CBs. He was also sixth with 77 targets against him, but held opponents to a measly -0.01 EPA Per Target. – Ryan Rubinstein

    CB – Kenny Moore II – Colts 

    Kenny Moore II has been one of the premier slot corners in the league for the past several years, and this year was no different. Moore ranked 5th among cornerbacks in Total Points. He was an all-around demon on the field this year, finishing top-10 among cornerbacks in interceptions (3), tackles for loss (7), Pass Defense Total Points (27), and returned a fumble for a touchdown. – Jeremy Percy

    S – Xavier McKinney – Packers 

    After making a move to the Packers in the offseason, McKinney put together a great season in their secondary. He forced 8 interceptions (2nd most in the league) and totaled 32 Pass Defense Total Points which ranked 5th for all safeties. He also finished Top-10 in Points Above Replacement. – Chad Tedder

    S – Kyle Hamilton – Ravens 

    Kyle Hamilton has quickly become widely regarded as one of the best three-level players in the NFL, making his presence felt all over the field. He finished the 2024 season 7th among safeties in Pass Defense Total Points with 26. He also ranked 4th at his position with 12 pressures (2 sacks) and tied for 3rd in Pass Rush Total Points with 8. – Jeremy Percy

    S – Geno Stone – Bengals

    In a down season for safeties across the league, Stone was a consistent piece in the secondary for the Bengals. He finished 2nd in Coverage Total Points and 2nd in Coverage Points Above Replacement at the safety position to go along with 4 interceptions. His availability was key in his inclusion here with him being 1 of 8 safeties to play more than 600 coverage snaps this season. – Conner Hrabal

    2nd Team Specialists

    Position Name Team
    K Brandon Aubrey Cowboys
    P Matthew Hayball Saints
    Returner Kalif Raymond Lions

    K – Brandon Aubrey – Cowboys

    Aubrey has solidified his place as one of the top kickers in the league, and a lot was asked of him as his 46 FG attempts led the league. Not only was he perfect on extra points, but he also led the league in 40+ and 50+ yard FGs. – Ryan Rubinstein

    P – Matthew Hayball – Saints

    Hayball had a phenomenal season punting for New Orleans, ranking first in the NFL with 27 fair catches, and he had the second-most punts inside the opponents 20 (28). Only Tommy Townsend had more punts inside the 20, but Hayball had less touchbacks than the All-Pro first teamer with just 3 on the year. – Anthony Haage

    RET – Kalif Raymond – Lions

    Raymond led the league with 413 punt return yards while he also added a punt return touchdown to his tally. He had a career-game against the Titans as he recorded 190 PR yards and a TD, and he played a huge part in that Week 9 showdown at Ford Field. – JD Allen

  • 2024 SIS College Football All-American Team

    2024 SIS College Football All-American Team

    Photos: Jeffrey Brown and Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire

    It’s time once again to announce our SIS College Football All-American Team. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our selections.

    A brief explanation of Total Points:

    Total Points takes nearly everything that SIS measures about a play and uses it to evaluate each player on a scale that allows you to compare them more easily. It’s always useful to be able to understand the different ways in which players can be valuable. Does he break a lot of tackles? Does he get a lot of yards after the catch? Does he make the best out of a poor offensive line? Does he get more pressures than expected? Does he break up a lot of passes? Total Points offers the opportunity to take all of those elements and get a quick picture of how well a player is performing overall.

    You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced within this piece here.

    Here are this year’s selections:

    1st Team Offense

    Position Name School
    QB Dillon Gabriel Oregon
    RB Ashton Jeanty Boise State
    RB Cam Skattebo Arizona State
    WR Travis Hunter Colorado
    WR Xavier Restrepo Miami
    WR Tetairoa McMillan Arizona
    TE Harold Fannin Jr. Bowling Green
    T Isaiah World Nevada
    T Josh Conerly Jr. Oregon
    G Keylan Rutledge Georgia Tech
    G Baraka Beckett New Mexico
    C Brady Small Army

    QB – Dillon Gabriel – Oregon

    Gabriel led all quarterbacks in Total Points and Points Above Average, passing for 3,558 yards and 28 touchdowns. Accuracy is his calling card. Gabriel finished Top 5 among quarterbacks in completion percentage, catchable pass percentage, and on-target percentage.

    RB – Ashton Jeanty – Boise State 

    Jeanty led all running backs in Total Points and Points Above Average, thanks to his 2,497 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. His 1,665 yards after contact was more than the next best running back had in yards alone.

    RB – Cam Skattebo – Arizona State

    Skattebo led all running backs in Total Points Per Play, while gaining 2,074 yards from scrimmage and scoring 22 total touchdowns. A total of 1,024 of his 1,568 rushing yards came after contact, and he forced a broken and/or missed tackle on 30.7% of his attempts (7th-best, minimum 150 carries).

    WR – Xavier Restrepo – Miami 

    Restrepo had a dominant final season in college, leading all wide receivers in Total Points and Points Above Average. The sure-handed receiver was one of two Power-4 wide receivers to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. 

    WR – Tetairoa McMillan – Arizona

    McMillan solidified himself as one of the most dominant receivers in the sport as a true junior. In addition to being Top 5 in Receiving Total Points, he posted the second-most air yards this season (881), while also being in the Top 5 in broken and missed forced tackles among receivers with 27.

    WR – Travis Hunter – Colorado

    Hunter was so good that we added an extra spot on both the 1st Team Offense AND 1st Team Defense so he could get his due. He finished the season Top 10 in Total Points among non-quarterbacks. The 2024 Biletnikoff Award winner finished 2nd in the FBS with 14 receiving touchdowns.

    TE – Harold Fannin Jr. – Bowling Green 

    Fannin Jr. led all Tight Ends in Total Points and Points Above Average, hauling in 1,332 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Perhaps his most impressive stat was that despite 133 targets this season, he dropped only 1 pass.

    T – Isaiah World – Nevada

    World’s all-around, stellar play earned him a spot on the 1st team. He finished 7th in the FBS in Run Block Total Points among tackles and tied for 1st in Total Points among all FBS offensive linemen this year. 

    T – Josh Conerly Jr. – Oregon 

    Conerly Jr. had a dominant season en route to Oregon’s undefeated regular season. He finished 3rd among all offensive linemen in Total Points and Points Above Average. He was very well balanced as he was the only tackle in the FBS to finish in the Top 10 of both Pass Block Total Points and Run Block Total Points.

    G – Keylan Rutledge – Georgia Tech

    Rutledge finished Top 10 in Total Points among offensive linemen, particularly shining in run blocking where he finished Top 5 in Run Blocking Total Points. His pass blocking accomplishments were also impressive, as with roughly 400 pass block attempts, he gave up only 2 blown blocks.

    G – Baraka Beckett – New Mexico

    Beckett was one of three Lobos to rank within the top-20 interior linemen in terms of Total Points, alongside teammates Richard Pearce and Lajuan Owens. The seventh-year senior played a key role in New Mexico’s offense, which had the highest yards per rush in the country (6.7).

    C – Brady Small – Army 

    Small was the middle man on the dominant, Joe Moore Award-winning, Army offensive line this season. He led all centers in Total Points, and made a statement in the run game by leading all offensive linemen in Run Blocking Total Points.

    1st Team Defense

    Position Name School
    DT Mason Graham Michigan
    DT TJ Sanders South Carolina
    EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku Boston College
    EDGE Abdul Carter Penn State
    LB Shaun Dolac Buffalo
    LB Jackson Woodard UNLV
    LB Carson Schwesinger UCLA
    CB Nohl Williams California
    CB Jahdae Barron Texas
    CB Travis Hunter Colorado
    S Nick Emmanwori South Carolina
    S Xavier Watts Notre Dame

    DT – Mason Graham – Michigan 

    Graham capped off a highly-decorated career by leading all defensive tackles in Total Points and Points Above Average. He was a force against the run and the pass, leading all defensive tackles in Run Defense Total Points and finishing 7th in Pass Rush Total Points. 

    DT – TJ Sanders – South Carolina  

    Sanders was nearly unblockable for the Gamecocks this past season. He finished Top 10 among all defensive tackles in Pass Defense Total Points Per Play, Run Defense Total Points, Run Defense Total Points Per Play, and ended up with 41 Total Points, which ranked 2nd among all players at his position.

    ED – Donovan Ezeiruaku – Boston College

    Ezeiruaku was a dominant force as a pass rusher where he led all Edges in Total Points and pressures generated. He also ended the season 3rd in sacks with 15.5. Not only was he one of the dominant forces as a pass rusher, but he was just as dominant in the run game where he led all Edges in Total Points against the run, tackles per game, and tackles for loss.

    ED – Abdul Carter – Penn State

    Carter finished 5th in Pass Defense Total Points and 7th in Run Defense Total Points, proving his dynamic ability that made him a top-3 edge defender in the nation with 61 Total Points. His Big 10-leading 19.5 tackles for loss, coupled with his double digit sack total, has put him into the national spotlight as a premier rusher in this upcoming draft. 

    LB – Shaun Dolac – Buffalo

    Dolac led all linebackers this season with 88 Total Points. He was impactful against the run and pass game, having the most Pass Defense Total Points among linebackers as well as the 2nd-most Run Defense Total Points.

    LB – Jackson Woodard – UNLV

    Woodard was everywhere this season for the Rebels defense. He was Top 5 in Total Points, Total Points per Play, tackles, and tackles for loss among defenders on run defense. He also contributed 6 turnovers forced (4 INTs and 2 forced fumbles) and 3.5 sacks.

    LB – Carson Schwesinger – UCLA 

    Schwesinger led all linebackers in Run Defense Total Points after finishing the season as the leading tackler among all Power-4 linebackers with 134. His 2.9% broken and missed tackle percentage led the nation. He ranked 6th in Pass Defense Total Points as he also picked off 2 passes this year. 

    CB – Nohl Williams – California

    Williams led the NCAA with 7 interceptions, 2 of which he returned for touchdowns. He has also played the most coverage snaps (494) and allowed only a 41.6 QB Rating and 42.6% completion percentage when targeted. He led all FBS cornerbacks in Total Points.

    CB – Jahdae Barron – Texas

    Barron put together an excellent season out on the boundary for the Longhorns. He finished 3rd in Total Points among all cornerbacks while posting a 25.7 QB Rating Against, a 37.1% completion percentage against and only 10 yards allowed per game. He also had 5 interceptions.

    CB – Travis Hunter – Colorado

    Hunter was so good that we added an extra spot on both the 1st Team Offense AND 1st Team Defense so he could get his due. He finished the season Top 10 in Total Points among non-quarterbacks. The 2024 Bednarik Award winner led all FBS cornerbacks in Total Points.

    S – Nick Emmanwori – South Carolina 

    Emmanwori was a force in the secondary for the Gamecocks this season. He led all safeties in Total Points and Points Above Average. He finished 9th with a 27.8 QB Rating Against when targeted.

    S – Xavier Watts – Notre Dame

    Watts ranks 2nd in Total Points for safeties and followed up his 7-interception campaign in 2023 with 5 more picks in 2024. Notre Dame is the only team in the NCAA to allow a completion percentage under 50%, with Watts leading the charge.

    1st Team Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Kenneth Almendares Louisiana
    P Alex Mastromanno Florida State
    Returner Kaden Wetjen Iowa

    K – Kenneth Almendares – Louisiana

    Almendares was Mr. Reliable for the Ragin’ Cajuns this season. He made 27 of his 29 field goal attempts with his only two misses coming from beyond 50 yards. He also made 46 of 47 PAT attempts. It should come as no surprise that these accomplishments contributed to Almendares finishing first among all FBS kickers in Total Points. 

    P – Alex Mastromanno – Florida State

    Mastromanno led the nation with 49.3 yards per punt, making him the top punter with 24 Total Points. His accuracy was key as he placed 17 punts inside the 20 with only 2 touchbacks all season.

    RET – Kaden Wetjen – Iowa 

    Wetjen was the dominant returner on both punts and kicks this season as he posted 937 total return yards on the season. He was also one of only two players to have multiple punt return touchdowns.

    2nd Team Offense

    Position Name School
    QB Cam Ward Miami
    RB Corey Kiner Cincinnati
    RB Ahmad Hardy UL-Monroe
    WR Jack Bech TCU
    WR Andrew Armstrong Arkansas
    TE Tyler Warren Penn State
    T Paul Rubelt UCF
    T Lucas Scott Army
    G Adrian Medley UCF
    G Michael Ford Jr. Kansas
    C Mike Katic Indiana

    QB – Cam Ward – Miami 

    Ward excelled this season after transferring to Miami, finishing 3rd in Total Points among quarterbacks. He was the only quarterback to throw for at least 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns this season despite being outside of the Top 10 in the total number of dropbacks. 

    RB – Corey Kiner – Cincinnati

    Kiner finished 3rd this year in Rushing Total Points this year behind Heisman contenders Ashton Jeanty and Cam Skattebo. He was top-3 in broken tackles forced this season with 46, and he also placed Top 5 in broken and missed tackles forced per attempt (minimum 150 attempts).

    RB – Ahmad Hardy – UL-Monroe

    Hardy burst onto the scene as a true freshman to finish the season 4th among FBS running backs in Total Points. He didn’t need to rely on volume either as he was also 3rd in Total Points Per Play.

    WR – Jack Bech – TCU

    Bech finished 4th in Receiving Total Points and was 2nd in EPA generated when targeted. Relative to his peers in the Top 10 for Receiving Total Points, Bech had the lowest Bust Percentage at 4.3% (that stat is explained further here).

    WR – Andrew Armstrong – Arkansas

    Armstrong, who finished 3rd in Receiving Total Points, was everything to the Arkansas passing game. His 1,140 receiving yards were 35% of the Arkansas receiving yardage total this season, and his 78 receptions were 32% of the team’s receptions.  

    TE – Tyler Warren – Penn State 

    Warren was truly a swiss army knife for Penn State, taking snaps all over the field, including at center. His 88 receptions for 1,062 yards, 191 rushing yards and 11 total touchdowns were a major reason for his 35 Total Points, good for 4th among FBS tight ends.

    T – Paul Rubelt – UCF  

    Rubelt finished the season tied for the lead in Total Points among FBS tackles due to his dominance in the run game. He was the only tackle to finish inside the Top 5 in Run Block Total Points that did not play for a service academy. 

    T – Lucas Scott – Army

    Scott led the AAC in Total Points for tackles, and was also the leading run blocker in the FBS. The senior helped Army average nearly 300 rushing yards per game. He had only 3 total blown blocks in 718 snaps.

    G – Adrian Medley – UCF

    Medley was a prominent piece on UCF’s offensive line this year. He led all FBS guards in Total Point and finished 2nd in Total Points Above Average. The powerhouse finished 4th among all FBS guards in Run Blocking Total Points.

    G – Michael Ford Jr. – Kansas

    Ford was a consistent presence for Kansas this year. He finished Top 10 among FBS guards in Total Points and Total Points Per Play. His 0.8% Blown Block Rate was also 2nd among Big 12 offensive linemen (minimum 400 snaps).

    C – Mike Katic – Indiana

    Katic was a stalwart on the interior of the Indiana offensive line that led the way to the team’s best season in school history. The sixth-year senior excelled specifically as a pass blocker and earned 35 Total Points, which tied for 2nd among all FBS centers this season. 

    2nd Team Defense

    Position Name School
    DT Walter Nolen Ole Miss
    DT Ty Robinson Nebraska
    EDGE T.J. Parker Clemson
    EDGE Mike Green Marshall
    LB Jay Higgins Iowa
    LB Whit Weeks LSU
    CB Ethan Robinson Minnesota
    CB D’Angelo Ponds Indiana
    S Jaylen Reed Penn State
    S Malaki Starks Georgia
    S Kerry Brown Minnesota

    DT – Walter Nolen – Ole Miss

    Nolen had a fantastic season in the middle of the Rebels’ defensive line this year. He was especially stout against the run, where he finished 4th among all defensive tackles in Run Defense Total Points and third in the FBS in Total Points (39) at his position. 

    DT – Ty Robinson – Nebraska

    Robinson was outstanding for the Cornhuskers, landing him 4th in Pass Defense Total Points among defensive tackles. His 6 sacks and 11 tackles for loss makes him an all-around force along the defensive line, which allowed him to finish tied for 3rd in Total Points.

    ED – T.J. Parker – Clemson 

    Parker put together a great season out on the edge of Clemson’s defensive front. He finished 4th in Total Points among all edge rushers where he accumulated 12 sacks and tied for the most forced fumbles in all FBS with 5, while also recovering 2. 

    ED – Mike Green – Marshall

    Green burst onto the scene this year by leading the country in sacks this year with 17. He had the most Pass Rush Total Points of all qualifiers and was top-3 in Pass Rush Total Points Per Play. He also placed Top 5 in pressures with 54.

    LB – Jay Higgins – Iowa

    Higgins did his best work against the pass this season while leading the always stingy Hawkeye defense to another solid year. Among FBS linebackers, he finished 2nd in Pass Coverage Total Points, 3rd in overall Pass Defense Total Points, and 6th in Pass Rush Total Points Per Play en route to amassing the 4th-most Total Points at his position. 

    LB – Whit Weeks – LSU 

    Weeks put together an outstanding sophomore season in the Tigers defense where he finished 5th in Total Points and 4th in Pass Rush Total Points among all linebackers. He also finished in the Top 10 for all linebackers in tackles per game with 9.6.

    CB – Ethan Robinson – Minnesota

    Robinson flew under the radar for an impressive Minnesota defense. He finished 3rd among FBS cornerbacks in Total Points. His balance was also impressive as he was the only FBS cornerback to earn at least 30 Pass Defense Total Points and 20 Run Defense Total Points.

    CB – D’Angelo Ponds – Indiana

    Ponds was a big part of Indiana’s unexpected run this season. He was Top 5 in Total Points and was ranked 5th in Pass Defense Total Points out of all defenders in the country. Among players targeted at least 30 times, Ponds ranked in the Top 25 in yards allowed with 166.

    S – Jaylen Reed – Penn State

    Reed performed well against both the run and pass, finishing in the top-25 on both fronts (24th and 13th, respectively). He was all over the field for the Nittany Lions, as he accumulated 79 tackles, one forced fumble and three interceptions, even taking one back to the house. He finished the season in the Top 5 among all safeties in Total Points, with 54. 

    S – Malaki Starks – Georgia

    Starks has been a chess piece for Georgia’s defense, moving all over the field. He was Top 5 in Total Points among safeties and ranked 8th in Pass Defense Total Points. He was a sure tackler too, ranking 2nd among safeties in one of our key stats, Broken and Missed tackle percentage per run defense snap.

    S – Kerry Brown – Minnesota

    Brown was half of the dynamic freshman safety pairing for Minnesota. He led all FBS safeties in Total Points Per Play. Similar to his teammate, he was also remarkably balanced, finishing 5th in Pass Defense Total Points Per Play and 1st in Run Defense Total Points Per Play.

    2nd Team Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Peyton Woodring Georgia
    P Eddie Czaplicki USC
    Returner Jalen Moss Fresno State

    K – Peyton Woodring – Georgia

    Woodring, on the heels of a Lou Groza award semifinalist freshman season, connected on 91% of his kicks in the 2024 season. His only two misses on the season came on attempts of at least 50 yards.

    P – Eddie Czaplicki – USC

    Czaplicki won the Ray Guy Award due to his excellent punting prowess this season. Not only was his 48.5-yard Punt Average impressive, but his accuracy was outstanding. He had 24 punts inside the 20 with only a single touchback all season.

    RET – Jalen Moss – Fresno State 

    Moss, despite an injury-shortened season, finished in the Top-15 for Punt Return Yards highlighted by an 85 yard TD. He was also one of only four players in the FBS with at least 15 kickoff returns and 15 punt returns.

  • 2023 SIS C-USA All-Conference Team

    2023 SIS C-USA All-Conference Team

    It’s finally time to release our SIS All-Conference teams. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our team of selections for 2023, plus some honorable mentions.

    You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced here.

    These picks are meant to honor this season’s best-of-the-best in the C-USA.

    Offense

    Position Name School
    QB Kaidon Salter Liberty
    RB Quinton Cooley Liberty
    WR CJ Daniels Liberty
    WR Malachi Corley Western Kentucky
    TE Bentley Hanshaw Liberty
    FLEX Kris Mitchell FIU
    OT Xavior Gray Liberty
    OT Will O’Steen Jacksonville State
    OG Jonathan Graham Liberty
    OG Quantavious Leslie Western Kentucky
    OC Canaan Yarro New Mexico State

    Liberty’s offense is well represented after finishing 4th in the FBS in yards per game. Kaidon Salter led the conference in total yards, Quinton Cooley led the conference in rushing yards, and CJ Daniels was 2nd in receiving yards. All three, along with Bentley Hanshaw and Xavior Gray, led their respective positions in Total Points in the conference, with Jonathan Graham finishing 2nd.

    Malachi Corley generated 17 broken/missed tackles after the catch and was a playmaker all season. Kris Mitchell led the conference in receiving yards and drew 4 pass interference calls as well. Will O’Steen and Canaan Yarro were both 2nd at their respective positions in Total Points with a Blown Block rate under 1.5%. Quantavious Leslie had a miniscule Blown Block rate of 0.5%.

    Defense

    Position Name School
    DT Marley Cook Middle Tennessee
    DT Jeff Marks Jacksonville State
    EDGE Chris Hardie Jacksonville State
    EDGE Praise Amaewhule UTEP
    LB Trevor Williams Sam Houston State
    LB Kavian Gaither Sam Houston State
    CB Willie Roberts Louisiana Tech
    CB Kobe Singleton Liberty
    S Mehki Miller New Mexico State
    S Brylan Green Liberty
    FLEX Andre Seldon New Mexico State

    Chris Hardie generated 42 Total Points which easily led EDGE players with 2nd place generating 24. Praise Amaewhule was 3rd in the conference in pressures (34) and also had 5 passes batted/deflected at the line. Marley Cook and Jeff Marks both made their presence felt as run stuffers with both finishing among the top 25 in FBS in Run Defense Total Points among DTs. Trevor Williams and Kavian Gaither were tough in coverage with a Passer Rating Against of 42.5 and 16.7 respectively.

    Kobe Singleton may not have been perfect, but he did snag 4 interceptions with another 11 passes defensed. Brylan Green led the conference with 5 INTs and Andre Seldon generated at least 20 Total Points against both the run and the pass. Willie Roberts and Mekhi Miller led the conference in Total Points at their respective positions.

    Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Ethan Albertson New Mexico State
    P Jack Dawson Jacksonville State
    Returner Smoke Harris Louisiana Tech

    Ethan Albertson led the conference in most FGs made 1-29 yards (tied), 30-39 yards, and 40-49 yards, showing consistent reliability.

    Jack Dawson had pinpoint accuracy with 23 punts inside the 20 with only a single touchback.

    Smoke Harris was a dynamic playmaker whenever he had the ball, easily leading the conference in punt return yards (with a touchdown to boot).

    Honorable Mentions

    Name School
    WR Trent Hudson New Mexico State
    OL Xavier Bausley Jacksonville State
    OL Clay Webb Jacksonville State
    OL Elijah Klein UTEP
    OL X’Zauvea Gadlin Liberty
    OL AJ Vaipulu New Mexico State
    OL Vincent Murphy Western Kentucky
    OL Jordan White Liberty
    LB Donovan Manuel FIU
    CB Anthony Johnson Jr. Western Kentucky
    S Fred Perry Jacksonville State
    S Jeremiah Harris Jacksonville State

    The selections for the offensive line and secondary were very difficult for C-USA. The combination of high-powered offenses and strong Blown Block numbers meant making some difficult decisions, such as leaving players like X’Zauvea Gadlin and Jordan White, who led their respective positions in Total Points, off the team. Jacksonville State’s safety tandem of Fred Perry and Jeremiah Harris made life difficult for opposing QBs with Perry having a Passer Rating Against of just 0.8.

    Check out this year’s NFL Draft site to see how we feel some of these players project to the NFL.

    Total Points, stats, and ranks as of 3/25/2023

  • Vikings Defense: More Heat, Same Results

    Vikings Defense: More Heat, Same Results

    The Minnesota Vikings currently sit 0-3, despite Kirk Cousins leading the NFL in passing yards and touchdown passes. Their defense was a sieve last year, and they completely changed personnel and brought in a new defensive coordinator to try and prevent a repeat. Brian Flores has a radically different defensive scheme than his predecessor Ed Donatell, but the results are more of the same.

    There are 3 big differences

    1)Personnel usage. Donatell used a Dime+ package (6 or more defensive backs) a meager 1% of the time last season, while Flores is using a Dime+ package 28% of the time.

    2)Pre-snap look. Donatell used a two-high shell (showing 2 safeties at the deepest level) 67% of the time, while Flores is using a two-high shell only 23% of the time.

    3)Blitz Rate (plays with more than 4 rushers). Donatell had a 22% blitz rate, while Flores has a 64% blitz rate. The last 3 games have the highest average number of rushers per play since the beginning of 2020.

    Donatell did send a little more heat towards the end of 2022, but nearly all of that upwards tail along the average line in 2022 is due to the 2023 Vikings. The Vikings defense sent an astounding average of roughly 5.5 rushers per play against the Chargers. The results? The Chargers went 41/48 (85%) for 454 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, and only 1 sack. Oof.

    This begs the question of whether the increased blitz rate generated more pressure?

    The Vikings standard pressure rate has been steadily declining since early 2021 and has not been impressive so far in 2023. The Vikings rank 31st (next-to-last) in the NFL in Pressure Rate this season and rank 30th in Pass Rushing Total Points Above Average.

    The pressure isn’t the only underwhelming stat as the defense currently ranks 27th in points allowed and 27th in yards allowed. The Vikings are just 1 of 3 teams allowing 250+ passing yards a game and 120+ rushing yards per game. One of the more surprising stats is their lack of improvement in man coverage.

    Despite a “man coverage-heavy” perception around Flores, the Vikings haven’t increased their use of man coverage significantly (23% to 27%), and the opposing offenses are actually finding more success against the 2023 Vikings man coverage compared to last season. Opposing offenses have a Success Rate of 55% this season against Minnesota’s man coverage (ranks 31st), compared to 44% last season (20th).

    A fairly-comprehensive defensive personnel overhaul took place in the offseason, but in order for that to be successful, the players next up need to step up. Akayleb Evans has played almost every defensive snap for the Vikings this season, but hasn’t played very well, giving up multiple touchdowns, a QB Rating Against of 136, and -1.4 Total Points Above Replacement. The rest of the highly-valued additions over the last 2 seasons have barely seen the field (stud Ivan Pace Jr. was undrafted and has been a rare bright spot).

    Below is the number of defensive snaps each player has had in each game this season.

    Player Buccaneers Eagles Chargers Total Defensive Snaps
    Mekhi Blackmon 15 14 18 47
    Brian Asamoah 2 14 0 16
    Jaquelin Roy 0 0 9 9
    Marcus Davenport 0 4 0 4
    Lewis Cine 0 0 0 0
    Jay Ward 0 0 0 0
    Andrew Booth Jr. 0 0 0 0

    While injuries have factored in, the majority of the bench-riding time has been because the players have not performed well. It’s very hard to look at the Vikings 2022 and 2023 draft classes and pronounce them “immediately impactful.” While it is too early to fully evaluate the 2022 draft class (and way too early to evaluate the 2023 draft class), the Vikings surely were hoping for more impact from their defensive players.

    The Vikings offense isn’t blameless by any means. The turnovers have been an absolute backbreaker, injuries along the offensive line have caused problems, and red-zone struggles have stalled the Vikings as well, but the defense continues to be a massive issue, and their draft capital wasn’t maximized. Jordan Addison is doing exactly what was expected of him, a nice piece to the offense, but he hasn’t transformed them into an offensive juggernaut. Joey Porter Jr. on the other hand, has looked impressive with the Steelers in his playing time and would’ve helped shore up the cornerback position.

    The season is long, and there is still time, but with playing 2 of the best teams in football in the next 4 weeks, followed by a trip to Lambeau, the Vikings are entering a crucial stretch in their schedule. If they limp through the next stretch, their season will be in real danger with a difficult final month to the season to look forward to. The preseason prediction of 9-8 without a playoff appearance looks more and more destined if the performance on the field doesn’t improve.

  • When A Sack Isn’t A Sack (Revisited)

    When A Sack Isn’t A Sack (Revisited)

    A quarterback drops back to pass, gets tackled, and fumbles the ball. The average football fan calls this a sack, but depending on what happens to the ball after the fumble, it may not be.

    Jalen Carter experienced this firsthand last year.

    The official NCAA rulebook has two scenarios where this is not a sack, and in one case, not even a tackle for loss. From Section 16, Articles 8-9, including Clarification:


    “A.R. 8. Adams is back to pass, but has the ball stripped from his grasp before his arm starts going forward by Benson, causing a fumble. The ball is then recovered behind the line of scrimmage by Allen, who attempts to gain positive yardage before being tackled by Baker, still behind the line of scrimmage. Credit Benson with a forced fumble only. Credit Baker with a solo tackle and a solo tackle for loss for the yards lost to the final spot. Charge Adams with a rush attempt and minus yards rushing to the final spot. Charge Team A with a fumble not lost. Allen is not credited with any statistics on this play. 

    A.R. 9. Adams is back to pass, but has the ball stripped from his grasp before his arm starts going forward by Benson, causing a fumble. The ball is then recovered behind the line of scrimmage by Allen, who gains positive yardage before being tackled by Baker beyond the line of scrimmage. Credit Benson with a forced fumble only. Credit Baker with a solo tackle. Charge Adams with a rush attempt for zero yards. Credit Allen with no rush but with the yards gained from the line of scrimmage under “Rushing.” Credit Team A with a fumble not lost.”

    Clarification: For plays that end either on the line of scrimmage or beyond, there is no pass sack credited, but rather it is considered a rushing play. There can be no pass sack (or tackle for loss) without loss of yardage. 

    In Article 8, the QB drops back to pass, a defender forces a fumble, and an offensive player picks it up and tries to advance the ball. The offensive player tackled behind the line of scrimmage (LOS), and the defender doesn’t get credit for a sack. In Article 9, same scenario, but the fumbled ball is advanced past the LOS, and no sack is credited to the defender. The Clarification expands in a concise way by stating that a play that ends with a 0 or positive yard gain can’t be credited as a sack. The NFL would credit the defender with a sack in both of these scenarios, but not the NCAA.

    The NCAA tries to assign every single yard in a game to a specific player, while the NFL allows for “phantom” yards to exist when a player shouldn’t be given credit. Example: Derrick Henry rushes for 5 yards, fumbles the ball 3 yards forward before a defender recovers it. Derrick Henry of Alabama would get 8 rushing yards because the ball is picked up 8 yards downfield, while Derrick Henry of the Titans would get 5 yards with the 3 yards the ball bounced assigned to nobody.

    The fumble yardage rules come into play in almost every single game in college football (often multiple times), but how often do Articles 8 and 9 come into play? During the 2022 FBS season, 25 times. Below are a handful of examples of plays that are not officially sacks.

    Clarification – The Colorado State QB fumbles the ball, and it goes 3 yards past the LOS. The QB actually gets +3 rushing yards on this play.

    Clarification – The Utah State QB fumbles the ball, and it goes 1 yard past the LOS. The QB actually gets +1 rushing yard on this play.

    Article 9 – The Tennessee QB fumbles the ball, and it is picked up by an offensive player who tries (and does) to advance it. The defender still gets a TFL, but not a sack.

    Article 8 – The Tennessee QB fumbles the ball, and it is picked up by an offensive player who tries to advance it. The improper spotting of the ball (should’ve been a safety) means the player actually did advance the ball. The defender gets a TFL, but not a sack.

    First off, I am in favor of every one of those plays being credited as sacks, but by the official NCAA rules, they are not. Secondly, the NCAA doesn’t count team-tracked statistics as official statistics so a play by play (PBP) on a team’s website crediting it as a sack, doesn’t mean it is a sack. College PBPs have errors in them (a truly painstaking process on our end to try to get things right) as they are done live, sometimes by inexperienced people, where mistakes are made. To make it even worse, college refs aren’t perfect and make mistakes as well (see the ball spotting error on the Jalen Carter non-sack), and once the refs place the ball, it is an official placement.

    While this happened only 25 times last season, it is still noteworthy as sacks are such a crucial, and often-referenced stat to make a case for a player’s ability or, further down the road, a case for their team’s Ring of Honor or the Hall of Fame. It really comes down to common sense. When you watch those plays, they look like a sack and act like a sack, and they should be tracked as a sack.

    There are other differences on sacks between the NCAA and NFL that are noteworthy. If the QB drops back to pass, scrambles, and is tackled for a 0-yard gain, the NCAA doesn’t credit that as a sack, since there isn’t a loss of yardage, while the NFL does credit a sack.

    How many 0-yard scrambles could there be in college? During the 2022 FBS season, there were 328. If the ball is spotted behind the LOS in college, but not enough for a full-yard, it is credited as a 0-yard scramble, meaning a defender loses a sack by a matter of inches.

    I am of the opinion that the NCAA should adapt those two rules and track those plays like the NFL, but there is one scenario that the NCAA tracks sacks better than the NFL, intentional grounding calls.

    When a QB is called for intentional grounding, the ball is usually placed at the spot of the foul (minor exceptions occur), but in the NCAA, the defender who forces the QB to get rid of the ball (or closest defender to him) gets credit for a sack with a loss of yards to the spot of the foul coupled with a 0-yard penalty that results in a loss of down. The NFL doesn’t credit a defender with a sack, but instead assigns the yards as penalty yards.

    This means that NFL QBs can short sack totals by simply getting rid of the ball at the last moment and taking the credit away from the defender. In the eyes of nearly every defensive coach, getting an intentional grounding call is essentially a sack as it moves the offense back the same yards and results in a loss of down. Defenders don’t receive the statistical credit in the NFL on these plays however and as stated early, stats such as sacks are often used to determine a player’s value down the line.

    At the end of the day, neither league has a perfect stat-tracking system, and maybe to the average fan, they don’t care, but to the people who track these stats and to the players who obtain them, it matters. A few simple rule changes could greatly improve the way sacks are tracked and how a better description of what actually happened on a play. So for those of you that are wondering why we have Jalen Carter with one sack less than the “general consensus,” now you know why.

  • 2023 SIS Preseason All-Independent Team

    2023 SIS Preseason All-Independent Team

    Photo: Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire

    As we approach the beginning of the 2023 college football season, we want to highlight some of the top players in each conference by announcing our SIS Preseason All-Conference teams. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our selections.

    You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced here.

    Offense

    Position Name School
    QB Sam Hartman Notre Dame
    RB Audric Estime Notre Dame
    WR Isaiah Alston Army
    WR Jayden Thomas Notre Dame
    TE Joshua Lingenfelter Army
    FLEX Ay’Juan Marshall Army
    OT Joe Alt Notre Dame
    OT Blake Fisher Notre Dame
    OG Connor Finucane Army
    OG Christian Haynes UConn
    OC Zeke Correll Notre Dame

    The offense is dominated by Notre Dame and Army players with very few schools remaining independent. Sam Hartman transferred from Wake Forest to Notre Dame in the offseason, and he should provide an immediate boost down the field after leading the ACC with an Avg Throw Depth of 12 yards last season. Audric Estime had nearly 1,000 yards rushing last season while Jayden Thomas caught nearly 96% of On-Target passes. 

    Army’s Ay’Juan Marshall is moving from RB to WR and is an explosive playmaker wherever he lines up. Isaiah Alston is a big play threat in his own right with an Avg Depth of Target of over 16 yards, and Joshua Lingenfelter was one of the best blocking TEs in the country last season, earning the most Blocking Total Points among FBS TEs.

    Notre Dame’s offensive line is stacked with Joe Alt, Blake Fisher, and Zeke Correll making the team. Alt had the 2nd-most Total Points among FBS tackles last season while Fisher and Correll were impact blockers in both the passing and running games. Connor Finucane was 2nd among FBS guards last season in Run Blocking Total Points, and Christian Haynes is getting NFL buzz after posting a 0.3% Pass Blocking Blown Block Rate last season.

    Defense

    Position Name School
    DT Rylie Mills Notre Dame
    DT Billy Wooden UMass
    EDGE Pryce Yates UConn
    EDGE Eric Watts UConn
    LB Leo Lowin Army
    LB Jackson Mitchell UConn
    CB Benjamin Morrison Notre Dame
    CB Jabari Moore Army
    S Malik Dixon-Williams UConn
    S Quindrelin Hammonds Army
    FLEX Jordan Mahoney UMass

    Rylie Mills is an interior disruptor, generating over 50% of his pressures when aligned as a DT. The UMass defense earns two selections with Billy Wooden and Jordan Mahoney. Wooden had nearly a 13% Pressure Rate when lined up as a DT, which was Top-15 in the FBS last season, and Mahoney earned a place with his effectiveness in coverage and underrated run defense abilities. The two EDGE spots go to UConn defenders Pryce Yates and Eric Watts as Yates had an Average Depth of Tackle of 0, and Watts generated 37 Pressures last season.

    Leo Lowin was all over the field and showed his value in coverage. Jackson Mitchell is a stat-sheet stuffer who led the FBS in fumble recoveries with 5. As only a true freshman last season, Benjamin Morrison was a lockdown CB. When targeted, Morrison had a QBR Against of just 18.3. Jabari Moore is a leader of a tough Army defense, and his numbers per-snap are even more impressive. Malik Dixon-Williams and Quindrelin Hammonds earned their spots in very different ways as Dixon-Williams had impressive numbers against the pass (a Bust% of almost 40%), while Hammonds had impressive numbers against the run.

    Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Noe Ruelas UConn
    P George Caratan UConn
    Returner Greg Desrosiers Jr. UMass

    Noe Ruelas was an effective kicker last season, and his long of 54 shows his impressive leg strength. George Caratan showed incredible control last season, pinning 19 punts inside of the 20 with only 1 touchback. Greg Desrosiers Jr. had nearly 600 kickoff return yards last season, including 3 separate games with 100+ KOR yards.

  • 2023 SIS Preseason Pac-12 All-Conference Team

    2023 SIS Preseason Pac-12 All-Conference Team

    As we approach the beginning of the 2023 college football season, we want to highlight some of the top players in each conference by announcing our SIS Preseason All-Conference teams. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our selections.

    You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced here.

    Offense

    Position Name School
    QB Caleb Williams USC
    RB Bucky Irving Oregon
    RB Carson Steele UCLA
    WR Dorian Singer USC
    WR Rome Odunze Washington
    TE Terrance Ferguson Oregon
    OT Roger Rosengarten Washington
    OT Taliese Fuaga Oregon State
    OG Justin Dedich USC
    OG Keaton Bills Utah
    OC Duke Clemens UCLA

    One of the easiest choices on any all-conference team is reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams who led the FBS in Total Points last season. Oregon’s Bucky Irving showed his elusiveness last season leading the Pac 12 in Broken Tackle +Missed Tackle% at 35%. Dorian Singer and Rome Odunze are each coming off 1,000-yard seasons and ranked 1st and 2nd respectively last season in Receiving Total Points in the Pac-12. Terrance Ferguson has an under-the-radar season, but led Pac-12 tight ends last season in Receiver Rating (minimum 25 targets). The final skill position spot was hotly contested, but Ball State transfer Carson Steele got the nod after leading the country in rushing yards after contact last season.

    The offensive line is very balanced, representing 5 different schools. Both tackles, Roger Rosengarten and Taliese Fuaga, finished T-2nd among Pac-12 tackles last season in Blown Block Rate, coming in at 1.4%. Justin Dedich and Keaton Bills are 1st and 2nd respectively among returning Pac-12 guards in Blocking Total Points. Rounding out our offensive line is Duke Clemens who finished 3rd in the Pac-12 in Run Blocking Points above average last season.

    In a league of explosive offenses, there were some tough decisions, and it’s worth mentioning a few players who just missed the cut, but could find themselves on the 1st team postseason. Troy Fautanu, Josh Baker, Jacob Cowing, and Brant Kuithe are all expected to have big seasons in 2023.

    Defense

    Position Name School
    DT James Rawls Oregon State
    DT Junior Tafuna Utah
    EDGE Laiatu Latu UCLA
    EDGE Bralen Trice Washington
    LB Eric Gentry USC
    LB Karene Reid Utah
    CB Chau Smith-Wade Washington State
    CB Nohl Williams California
    S Cole Bishop Utah
    S Calen Bullock USC
    S Kitan Oladapo Oregon State

    James Rawls and Junior Tafuna show great balance along the defensive line as they are the only 2 returning Pac-12 defensive tackles to earn at least 12 Pass Defense Total Points and at least 12 Run Defense Total Points last season. The Pac-12 leader in pressures returns in Laiatu Latu as does the 3rd-place finisher Bralen Trice. The linebacker core includes a pair of linebackers who find multiple ways to leave their mark in the passing game. Eric Gentry and Karene Reid were 2 of just 6 Pac-12 defenders last season to achieve a 22% or higher Pressure Rate (minimum 10 pressures, 50 pass rushes), while both linebackers also recorded an interception as well.

    The secondary is littered with playmakers including the Top-2 returning Pac-12 defenders in Coverage Total Points in Chau Smith-Wade and Calen Bullock. Cole Bishop was one of the most effective safeties in the country last season, finishing 5th in the FBS in Total Points in the group. Kitan Oladapo finished 2nd among Pac-12 safeties (behind fellow 1st-teamer Bullock) in Pass Coverage Total Points last season. Lastly, UNLV transfer Nohl Williams allowed a QB Rating Against of just 35.3 when targeted last season.

    A couple of noteworthy mentions are Casey Rogers and Christian Roland-Wallace, who were both strongly considered for the all-conference team.

    Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Joshua Karty Stanford
    P Eddie Czaplicki USC
    Returner Anthony Gould Oregon State

    Joshua Karty went a perfect 18-for-18 on field goals last season, including 3-for-3 on 50+ yarders. Eddie Czaplicki had an impressive average of 45.9 yards per punt with a long of 75. Our last specialist spot goes to Anthony Gould who was 1 of 5 FBS players with multiple punt return touchdowns last season.