Marcus Stokes

QB · Memphis · Fr. · #2

6′2″ · 209 lb · Saint Augustine, FL · Nease HS

He has 21 touchdown passes, second among FBS quarterbacks, behind Braden Atkinson.

Memphis is 6-2 in his eight games. A chain-mover who throws deeper than most.

Strongest: 9.8 yards an attempt, 8th best of 145 starters.

Passing yards

2,161

150 of 224, 67%

TD–INT

21–6

9.6 per throw

NCAA rating

173.6

11th of 103

ZPR

65

22nd of 103

How ZPR works

Solid or better in 6 of 8.

  • Worst night: 306 yards and three interceptions at Tulane, a loss.

Best by our grade: at Boise State. Worst: at Tulane, with 3 interceptions and sacked 6 times.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

Season

Fades after halftime

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for him, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming him. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of his plays, up helped his team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

How to read this

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as his season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense he faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

How he plays

Chain-mover

Also: explosive runner, deep thrower

Why this word
Runs6.1 a gameRarelyA lot
Throws11.1 yards past the lineShortDeep
Completes67%FewerMore
Takes sacks6% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is where he sits among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws deeper than most and runs some. 6.1 carries a game. Closest matches: Sayin, Fifita, Mendoza ’25, Jackson.

Where his throws go

Behind the line18%typical 21%
Short36%typical 43%
Middle30%typical 22%
Deep17%typical 14%

Runs 6.1 times a game; 74% of starters run less.

Who he is like

SayinFifitaMendoza ’25JacksonHim

Nearer to him means more alike.

  • Sayin Ohio State · Vertical passer
    2,007 yards, 19 TD, 4 INT so far. Both are efficient and complete a lot.
  • Fifita Arizona · Precision passer
    1,739 yards, 16 TD, 4 INT so far. Both are efficient and rarely throw behind the line.
  • Mendoza ’25 Indiana 2025 · Chain-mover
    3,535 yards, 41 TD, 6 INT. Drafted in round 1 (No. 1 overall) by Las Vegas, 2026. Both hit big plays and complete a lot.
  • Jackson Texas State · Dual-threat
    1,439 yards, 14 TD, 5 INT so far. Both score a lot and complete a lot.

Compared with the 145 FBS starters this season for his throws and running, and with 207 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

  • RecordMemphis is 6-2.
  • Last gameOct. 22 · a win over East Carolina, 320 passing yards.
  • What fans say

    Over the last few games, Memphis fans have been down on Stokes.

    “Holy Christ. Bench stokes for the season after this.”

    “Stokes played like I do when I get stupid and put CFB 26 on Heisman difficulty.”

    “Both Stokes and Arnold doing the Carson Wentz special of underthrowing for DPIs”

    From r/CFB game threads. Read by AI.

  • Next gamevs Army · Sat Oct 31

What’s being said about him

6 stories this week, after W 41-34 vs East Carolina, from 6 outlets.

Oct 19: 1Oct 20: 2Oct 22: 1Oct 23: 2W 41-34 vs East CarolinaWOct 18Oct 24Most in a day: 2
Oct 19: 1Oct 20: 2Oct 22: 1Oct 23: 2W 41-34 vs East CarolinaWOct 18Oct 24Most in a day: 2
Stories about him per day. W and L: his team’s results.

All 34 stories this season

Worth knowing

  • Marcus Stokes has 232.5 passing yards a game at home, 307.8 on the road.

His biggest play this season

  1. Q2, 14:08 · Memphis breaks the tieMarcus Stokes finds Braylon Burnside for a 76-yard touchdownMemphis at Tulane, week 7Q2, 14:08 · Memphis 10, Tulane 37676-yard touchdown pass7676-yard touchdown pass76-yard touchdown passM.Stokes pass complete short middle to S.Burnside caught at MEM40, for 76 yards to the TLN00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this playESPN College Football

All 9 of his plays on video

Marcus Stokes

QB · Memphis · Fr · #2

Filling the Shoesas of 2026-10-24

Marcus Stokes steps into Brendon Lewis's shoes — the gap is the story.

2,161PASS YDS21PASS TD237RUSH YDS

PRODUCES ABOVE PERCEPTION · PCTL GAP

+56

perception vs production percentile · 2026

The production (90th) is outrunning the reputation (34th). The recognition is the thing lagging behind.

Read the story so far

He lines up at QB for Memphis.

On the field, the headline is 2,161 pass yds, with 21 pass td.

He inherited the QB job from Brendon Lewis (3-star).

The number to watch: +56 — produces above perception · pctl gap.

QB successionleap of faith
  • Inherited fromBrendon Lewis 3★

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-10-24

How he plays

How he plays

Play style

Pushes it downfield on every look.

Players he’s like

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.