CFF Sig Stats: Guards

As we wade into our massive pool of College Football Focus data, we’ll be sharing with you some of the highlights from our Signature Stats in position-by-position looks.

So, over these couple weeks you can expect daily dives into the best and worst that the full FBS schedule produced in all of the same categories you’ve come to know from our NFL coverage.

We've been through most of the offensive side of the ball already (quarterbacks, running backs Part 1 & Part 2, receivers Part 1 & Part 2, tight ends, tackles)

Pass Blocking Efficiency

Since we grade the effectiveness of every player on every play, it’s important to separate our grades from our stats. Pass blocking efficiency is a pure stat that simply measures how often a blocker allows pressure, but it doesn’t differentiate between how quickly it got there or how bad the block actually was – that’s the job of the grades. The stat also doesn’t account for plays that were negated by penalty as well as poor blocks that may not have resulted directly in pressure but still received a downgrade. Also, sacks are weighted a little higher when it comes to pass blocking efficiency.

Here’s a look at the guards that best avoided pressure in the draft class.

–  While Duke’s scheme certainly helped, Laken Tomlinson was the nation’s top pass protecting guard and he may be the top guard in the draft. He didn’t allow a knockdown all season.
–  It was close at the top as Alabama’s Arie Kouandijo allowed only six pressures on the season while posting positive pass blocking grades in all 14 of Alabama’s games.
–  West Virginia’s Quinton Spain and Florida State’s Josue Matias held up well in their respective pass-heavy offenses.

Run Block Efficiency

Just as pass block efficiency is a straightforward stat, run block efficiency is simply a percentage of non-negative run blocks for offensive linemen. Whether executing the expected block (0-grade in our system) or earning a positive, avoiding negatives is the key to showing well in this particular stat. Also as above, this measure does not necessarily account for the quality of the positive blocks, but it’s a good indicator of which blockers avoid the bad blocks that can destroy a running game.

–  Option-heavy offenses are well-represented as Air Force’s Michael Husar JR, Navy’s Jake Zuzek, New Mexico’s Jamal Price, and Georgia Tech’s Shaquille Mason all make the list.
–  Pittsburgh’s Matt Rotheram was one of the best guards in the nation as well as the best overall run blocker last season.
–  Tomlinson is the only guard to make both lists, ranking just ahead of fellow early-round hopeful A.J. Cann who is more of a one-dimensional prospect.

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