CFF Sig Stats: Centers

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, guards)

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.

–  Nevada’s Matt Galas led the way with only two pressures surrendered, good for a PBE of 99.7 that led the entire nation.
–  Arizona had a number of offensive linemen with strong pass blocking production due to a favorable scheme, and center Steven Gurrola comes in at fourth on this list at 99.2.
–  Even at the NFL level, there’s a fine line at the top of the Pass Blocking Efficiency list as centers generally give up the fewest pressures among the five offensive line positions.

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.

–  Florida’s Max Garcia joins Galas as one of two centers to make the top of both lists.
–  Greg Mancz of Toledo may have been the best run-blocking center in the nation and the numbers back him up. He’s a potential mid-to-late round prospect.
–  B.J. Finney and Reese Dismukes tied at 91.3 percent, both mid-to-late round prospects in their own right.

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