LSU RB Leonard Fournette was a national story when the Tigers sprinted to a 7-0 start to the 2015 season.
But one of the understated pieces to last season’s improvement for the Tigers offense was the efficiency of the downfield passing attack.
It appears to have been a product of full-time change at quarterback from Anthony Jennings to Brandon Harris.
The cumulative stats aren’t overwhelming, as the Tigers improvement from 162.9 yards through the air in 2014 to 179.8 per game in 2015 represented a modest, yet unspectacular gain.
Instead, it’s a matter of consistency in the downfield passes. The threat kept opposing defenses on their toes while focusing on a heavy dose of Fournette in the running game.
ESPN’s David Ching recently wrote a nice piece comparing the two Tigers QBs, but perhaps what stands out the most are the two charts that he Tweeted out in conjunction with his story.
First, we’ll look at Jennings’ 2014 season, as it pertains to total quarterback rating:
https://twitter.com/ESPNChing/status/702655202067877888
Jennings posted some respectable numbers in the intermediate passing game, but notice how dreadful he was at throwing the ball beyond 20 yards?
Meanwhile, take a peek at what Harris was able to accomplish in the same breakdown for the 2015 season:
https://twitter.com/ESPNChing/status/702655005510279168
Harris enjoyed hot zones over the middle in the intermediate passing game, and had very nice numbers while throwing the ball 20 yards downfield and beyond.
Wide receivers Travin Dural and Malachi Dupre both serve as deep threats for the Tigers passing game, so accuracy in that area of the field is a part of the quarterback’s job that has the potential to break games open.
Was Harris perfect in 2015? Of course not, and the Tigers passing game must be a bigger part of the offense in 2016 if the Tigers plan on being in the SEC championship picture.
But with an experienced Harris and set of All-SEC caliber receivers returning, it would be disappointing if the Tigers weren’t able to find more offensive balance in 2016.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
