The board has been a little slow lately so I wanted to drum up a little conversation.
With news that Kenny Pickett has added 8 pounds of muscle, bulking up to 222 - should we use him more in the running game than we currently do?
I’m not saying Kenny doesn’t currently run, he definitely does - ran for 222 yards and 3 TD and I think that number includes sacks against, not positive.
There’s another larger statured QB that I think Pitt should model some plays after - Texas QB Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger isn’t the best passer, but is definitely better than Kenny across the board.
Both had remarkably similar years as first time starters:
Pickett: 14G, 1969 Yards, 180/310 (58.1%), 12 TD, 6 INT // 220 RuYd, 3 TD, 2.0 AVG
Ehlinger: 9G, 1915 Yards, 158/275 (57.5%), 11 TD, 7 INT // 381 RuYd, 2 TD, 3.3 AVG
They are both pretty big QB who can move:
Pickett: 6’2 222 - 4.74 40yd dash
Ehlinger: 6’3 235 - 4.63 40yd dash
Ehlinger this past year however broke out in a BIG way, and is now considered a Heisman front runner:
Ehlinger: 14 G, 3292 Yards, 275/425 (64.7%), 25 TD, 5 INT // 482 RuYd, 16 TD, 2.9 AVG
Texas lost their 2 best RB to NFL or to graduation after the 2017 season (sound familiar)
Texas decided to let Ehlinger be an athlete, and gave him 63 more pure rushing attempts. This allowed him to come into his own as a runner and as a passer, as defenses had to respect his feet - which in turn opened up passing lanes and resulting in 150 more passing attempts!
The Texas offense went from mediocre to above average:
2017: 5.1 Yards per play, 6.74 yards per attempt passing, 3.6 yards per attempt rushing. 5180 total yards of offense, 50 touchdowns. 398.5 YPG
(7-6 record)
2018: 5.5 Yards per play, 7.58 yards per attempt passing, 3.8 yards per attempt rushing. 5758 total yards of offense, 54 touchdowns, 411.3 YPG
(10-4 record)
Ehlinger’s share?:
2017: 39% of total plays, 44% of total yards, 26% of total TD - 22% of rushes 8% of RuTD
2018: 56% of total plays, 66% of total yards, 76% of total TD - 29% of rushes 67 % of RuTD
And if you’re into coincidences - Kenny’s share:
20% of rushing attempts (2017 SE-22%)
10% of rushing touchdowns (2017 SE-8%)
7% of rushing yards (2017 SE - 20%)
48% of total plays (2017 SE - 39%)
33% of total TD (2017 SE - 26%)
43% of total yards (2017 SE - 44%)
I’m not saying Kenny is or ever will be as good as Ehlinger as a college player, but that’s the type of offense I would employ - because I think it fits Kenny, and good offenses fit their Scheme to the QB, not the other way around
Would you be opposed to Pitt running their offense similar to how Texas runs theirs? More up tempo, and allowing the QB to be a big part of the run game.
With news that Kenny Pickett has added 8 pounds of muscle, bulking up to 222 - should we use him more in the running game than we currently do?
I’m not saying Kenny doesn’t currently run, he definitely does - ran for 222 yards and 3 TD and I think that number includes sacks against, not positive.
There’s another larger statured QB that I think Pitt should model some plays after - Texas QB Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger isn’t the best passer, but is definitely better than Kenny across the board.
Both had remarkably similar years as first time starters:
Pickett: 14G, 1969 Yards, 180/310 (58.1%), 12 TD, 6 INT // 220 RuYd, 3 TD, 2.0 AVG
Ehlinger: 9G, 1915 Yards, 158/275 (57.5%), 11 TD, 7 INT // 381 RuYd, 2 TD, 3.3 AVG
They are both pretty big QB who can move:
Pickett: 6’2 222 - 4.74 40yd dash
Ehlinger: 6’3 235 - 4.63 40yd dash
Ehlinger this past year however broke out in a BIG way, and is now considered a Heisman front runner:
Ehlinger: 14 G, 3292 Yards, 275/425 (64.7%), 25 TD, 5 INT // 482 RuYd, 16 TD, 2.9 AVG
Texas lost their 2 best RB to NFL or to graduation after the 2017 season (sound familiar)
Texas decided to let Ehlinger be an athlete, and gave him 63 more pure rushing attempts. This allowed him to come into his own as a runner and as a passer, as defenses had to respect his feet - which in turn opened up passing lanes and resulting in 150 more passing attempts!
The Texas offense went from mediocre to above average:
2017: 5.1 Yards per play, 6.74 yards per attempt passing, 3.6 yards per attempt rushing. 5180 total yards of offense, 50 touchdowns. 398.5 YPG
(7-6 record)
2018: 5.5 Yards per play, 7.58 yards per attempt passing, 3.8 yards per attempt rushing. 5758 total yards of offense, 54 touchdowns, 411.3 YPG
(10-4 record)
Ehlinger’s share?:
2017: 39% of total plays, 44% of total yards, 26% of total TD - 22% of rushes 8% of RuTD
2018: 56% of total plays, 66% of total yards, 76% of total TD - 29% of rushes 67 % of RuTD
And if you’re into coincidences - Kenny’s share:
20% of rushing attempts (2017 SE-22%)
10% of rushing touchdowns (2017 SE-8%)
7% of rushing yards (2017 SE - 20%)
48% of total plays (2017 SE - 39%)
33% of total TD (2017 SE - 26%)
43% of total yards (2017 SE - 44%)
I’m not saying Kenny is or ever will be as good as Ehlinger as a college player, but that’s the type of offense I would employ - because I think it fits Kenny, and good offenses fit their Scheme to the QB, not the other way around
Would you be opposed to Pitt running their offense similar to how Texas runs theirs? More up tempo, and allowing the QB to be a big part of the run game.
