Big Ten QB power rankings thru Week 10 (Drew Allar vs. JJ McCarthy)
By Josh Yourish
Big Ten QB rankings, No. 4: Gavin Wimsatt (was 5)
- Passing yards: 1,263
- TD: 8 INT: 5
- Comp: 49.0%
- YPA: 6.1
Yes, I put a quarterback who is completing less than 50% of his passes above Kyle McCord. It’s not always pretty with Gavin Wimsatt, but it’s the Big Ten, who the hell said it had to be pretty?
On top of his passing stats, Wimsatt has also run for 411 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He is sixth in the conference in EPA and that is largely due to his rushing EPA of 10.2. His legs give him the ability to escape when pressured, instead of just throwing a bad pass like Kyle McCord always does.
Wimsatt is also in a group of quarterbacks with Jalen Milroe at Alabama who have learned that you can succeed in college by being a good runner and throwing deep a lot. Wimsatt only has 26 attempts over 20 yards downfield but throws 28.2% of his passes into the intermediate part of the field. His ADOT of 11.3 allows him to have a passable 6.1 yards per attempt.
To me, Wimsatt separates himself from McCord because he’s a playmaker with his legs and his arm. I have no interest in a quarterback who needs everything to be perfect to survive because in big games against good teams, things are rarely perfect.