Junior quarterback for Purdue. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
6′4″ · 220 lb · Clarkston, MI · Venice (Fla.)
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
How he plays
Operates within the system without forcing anything.
EPA / dropback: 94th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 378 pass yds, 3 TD, 1 INT, at UCLA
The play that turned itSwung Purdue from 50% to 85% to win.Rutgers at Purdue · 27-24
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior quarterback for Purdue. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
Aura™ · Him Watch
+13aura tax
37th pctl our passing-value metric (wEPA) QBs · 160 qualified, n=62
— the discourse is fair.Buzz vs Tape
His own fans are far more bullish than the rival fanbase.
Also worth knowing:
“The play? A poorly timed screen blown up by a blitz. The throw? The Ryan Browne special….against any non FCS school it gets picked.”
Ryan Browne
Operates within the system without forcing anything. Four seasons at Purdue, two different head coaches: Ryan Walters and Barry Odom. The receipt: 378 pass yds, 3 pass TD against UCLA — Week 3, 2026.
1,024 PASS YDS · 7 PASS TD · 4 RUSH YDS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
The role got bigger.
Career arc
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Ryan Walters → Barry Odom. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
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 44-19vs Indiana State | 23/29 | 317 | 3 | 0 | 10.9 | 85.1 | 3 TD passes |
| Wk 2 | L 36-38vs Wake Forest | 32/42 | 329 | 1 | 0 | 7.8 | 74.0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 38-52@ UCLA | 19/30 | 378 | 3 | 1 | 12.6 | 92.0 | Season-high 378 yds |
| Total | 74/101 | 1024 | 7 | 1 | 10.4 | 83.7 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 44–19
317 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 85.1 · 4 rush yds (4 car)
Dominant 25-point win at home against Indiana State.
With F. Ijeboi — 87 rush yds (11 car) · 1 TD · D. Drennan — 54 yards per punt · 1 punts · 54 long
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +378 passing yards, +3 passing TD, +1 interception.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: epa / dropback (94th percentile). Strength: success rate (94th percentile). Concern: rush yards (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
9.9621 of 126 QBsSack rate
5.6%82 of 126 QBsSacked on 5.6% of dropbacks (82 of 126) — and still 21 of 126 in Adjusted ANY/A.
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 73.3% completion on 101 attempts · 45% completion on 11 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 dropbacks75Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
53.6%95th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -6.9% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
9.4899th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · -0.6 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
5.3%55th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · -0.4% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (1 of 105 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 | 323 | 2.0 | 9.3 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 378 | 3.0 | 12.6 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 341 | 2.3 | 10.4 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Barry Odom
Pass share
50.2%
107 pass / 106 run
Plays / game
71.0
3 games
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
Recognition
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #12 of 19 Big Ten QBs
22% estimated, 95% confidence interval 19–25%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Play style
Balanced passer who operates within the system, without one standout number carrying the profile.
CFB Index positional classification
The No. 1,026 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Big Ten as a junior.
Player DNA
Balanced passer who operates within the system, without one standout number carrying the profile.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Gunner Kiel’s 2015 season.
Matches Gunner on
Differs from Gunner on
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Holton Ahlers’s path through East Carolina.
Matches Holton on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Skylar John Thompson's senior season at Kansas State (2021).
Matches Skylar on
Differs from Skylar on
Player DNA
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #34 this season.