616 team passing yards leader on the résumé, and Middle Tennessee fans still can't agree what Roman Gagliano is.
6′3″ · 219 lb · Opelika, AL · Opelika
The numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far
The play that turned itSwung Middle Tennessee from 13% to 65% to win.Middle Tennessee at Marshall · 28-26
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Redshirt sophomore quarterback for Middle Tennessee. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
How he plays
Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.
Sack rate: 89th percentile.
The full scouting readRoman Gagliano
Roman Gagliano is on trial in Middle Tennessee's fan jury — the eye test against the résumé.
TEAM PASSING YARDS LEADER
616
Team leader in passing yards (616).
Middle Tennessee fans can't agree whether the tape backs the reputation.
Minority viewA vocal minority sees it the other way.
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
FRESHMAN HONORS
Freshman recognition (2025)
1 mention(s)
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Derek Mason.
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Middle Tennessee | 61 | 102 | 59.8% | 616 | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 128.0 | 43 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Middle Tennessee | 78 | 135 | 57.8% | 1,011 | 7.5 | 7 | 0 | 137.8 | 41 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Middle Tennessee | 4 | 9 | 44.4% | 41 | 4.6 | 0 | 0 | 82.7 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 143 | 246 | 58.1% | 1,668 | 6.8 | 13 | 1 | 131.7 | 42 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Middle Tennessee | 15 | 97 | 6.5 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | Middle Tennessee | 38 | 160 | 4.2 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | Middle Tennessee | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 55 | 262 | 4.8 | 3 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-14vs Murray State | 20/26 | 200 | 2 | 0 | 7.7 | — | |
| Wk 2 | L 26-28@ Marshall | 25/47 | 243 | 2 | 1 | 5.2 | 26.4 | Season-high 243 yds |
| Wk 3 | W 27-20vs Nevada | 16/29 | 173 | 2 | 0 | 6.0 | 39.7 | |
| Total | 61/102 | 616 | 6 | 1 | 6.3 | 33.0 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 38–14
vs Murray State
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +173 passing yards, +2 passing TD.
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Derek Mason — 8-19 over that span.
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: sack rate (89th percentile). Strength: fumbles lost (90th percentile). Concern: explosive rate (20th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
6.5480 of 126 QBsSack rate
1.9%19 of 126 QBsRarely sacked (19 of 126), but Adjusted ANY/A hasn't followed (80 of 126).
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 59.8% completion on 102 attempts · 27% completion on 15 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 104 dropbacks43Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
44.6%41th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -2.5% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
5.699th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · -0.7 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
2.1%94th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · +0.2% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (0 of 104 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 186 | 2.0 | 6.8 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 243 | 2.0 | 5.2 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 205 | 2.0 | 6.3 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Derek Mason
Pass share
58.0%
102 pass / 74 run
Plays / game
58.7
3 games
Scheme: Pass-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Play style
Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.
CFB Index positional classification
The No. 1,591 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Conference USA as a redshirt sophomore.
Player DNA
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Lucas Johnson’s 2021 season.
Matches Lucas on
Differs from Lucas on
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Grant Wilson’s path through Old Dominion.
Matches Grant on
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Lucas Johnson's junior season at San Diego State (2021).
Matches Lucas on
Differs from Lucas on
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #111 this season.
Honors • 2025: CUSA Freshman of the Week 11/17, TSWA Offensive Player of the Week 11/19, MTSU Offensive Player of the Week 11/23 2026 (r-Sophomore) • Served as a counselor at the 2026 Manning Passing Academy 2025 (r-Freshman) • Played in five games and had three starts (last three games of…