SEC StatCat's Top5 Intermediate Passers for 2021

Though not as exciting as humming a zinger deep, the intermediate passing game is still a very important aspect in modern football. Plenty of patterns require for a crisp throw along the sideline, down the seam, or ahead of dropping coveragemen. Midrange patterns can operate like body blows in a fight and help wear down fences... Or sometimes bring them to their knees with a well-timed strike. Having a QB with such ability helps separates average ones from good ones. While things could very well change this season, here are the good ones as far as intermediate passing is concerned based on our qualifiers’ play last season.

5. Connor Bazelak

Connor Bazelak is a divisive QB entering 2021. Though his job is locked up, those outside of Columbia are torn on whether he can shake off the game manager label this fall. In terms of his midrange passing, his returns were fairly vanilla. Despite the mediocre metrics, Bazelak sported top5 accuracy figures in addition to the SEC’s 3rd-best Interceptable Pass Rate amongst returners. Though moderately consistent, the Tiger still threw an uncatchable throw on almost a quarter of his midrange attempts without logging a single TD last year. Since these are simply higher value throws, failing to maximize these opportunities could handcuff his analytics and prevent Bazelak from fixing his image.

4. Myles Brennan

Myles Brennan’s sturdy overall profile is reflected by his midrange performance. He enters this season with a top3 intermediate Adjusted Completion% and Depth Adjusted-accuracy percentage. Though on a per-throw basis, the Tiger was inaccurate on over half of his attempts. Over a quarter had no chance of being caught; only two qualifiers sport worse clips. Still, Brennan came through on his more difficult chances to pad his weighted clip. Between 11 and 19 yards downfield, he was just as likely to toss a touchdown in this area of the field as a turnover-worthy pass. But both marks stand to be top5 amongst returners ahead of 2021. 

3. Matt Corral

Matt Corral dedicated the highest percentage of his passes towards midrange attempts than any one else on this list last fall. Along with his steady flow of throws, he is top5 across the board. For the uninitiated those metrics include: Adjusted Completion%, Accuracy%, Depth Adjusted Accuracy%, Y/A, Interceptable Pass Rate, Explosive Pass Rate, and Uncatchable Pass Rate. No other returning SECer can make such a claim. Yet, the biggest capper in Corral’s corner is his 15.1% intermediate TD Rate that topped the conference last season. No doubt his precision needs improvement, but his well-rounded output on these throws provides more ammunition for believers that he’s the SEC’s best quarterback. 

2. JT Daniels

Georgia’s passing game ebbed and flowed as throws dove and sailed. But once JT Daniels was inserted into the lineup, the Bulldogs found aerial consistency. Though he really caught people’s attention connecting on deep passes, the Trojan transfer showed to be a more complete midrange thrower in comparison. Entering this season, Daniels is top3 in intermediate Adjusted Completion%, Accuracy%, Depth Adjusted Accuracy%, and Explosive Pass Rate. On-target and effective, no SECer trumps his 14.8 Yards/Attempt or 12.5% Uncatchable Pass Rate in this area of the field. While his passes tend to die deep downfield, Daniels limited play certainly has him poised to make some noise in 2021. 

1. TJ Finley

Fresh out of the transfer portal, former LSU slinger TJ Finely deserves some recognition in this context. The new passer on The Plains rocks the best midrange efficiency among all the returning QBs. Though his misses are — really bad — his positive reps simply came at a better rate than his peers. He might not start a game, but he noticeably heads into 2021 with a preferable Adjusted Completion, Accuracy%, and Interceptable Pass Rate to Bo Nix. Again, Finley’s clips finished runner-up within the conference last fall. And, NO ONE topped his 69.3% depth-adjusted clip. Finley is still raw, but he’s definitely got some juice particularly as a midrange passer. .