Syracuse Football: Is Garrett Shrader just a running QB? Maybe not

One common refrain I have heard from Syracuse football fans over the last few weeks is that the quarterback switch from Tommy DeVito to Garrett Shrader means big long-term problems for the passing game because Garrett Shrader, and this is their theory, not mine, is not as effective of a passer.

But is this really true?

Entering the Wake Forest game, let’s take a look at the passing numbers for each so far over the course of the season.

Completion Percentage

• Tommy DeVito – 32 completed of 52 attempts, a 61.5% rate
• Garrett Shrader – 35 completed of 60 attempts, a 58.3% rate
• Advantage – DeVito

Average Yards Per Completion

• Tommy DeVito – 7.5 yards
• Garrett Shrader – 7.8 yards
• Advantage – Shrader

TD to INT Ratio

• Tommy DeVito – 1 TD pass, 2 INT
• Garrett Shrader – 2 TD passes, 2 INT
• Advantage – Shrader

Passer Rating

• Tommy DeVito – 122.9
• Garrett Shrader – 128.0
• Advantage – Shrader

Maybe Syracuse football quarterback Garrett Shrader is more than a running QB.

Now, this is just a small snapshot, but the lack of statistical separation persists the more you dive into the stats for these two quarterbacks so far. Indeed, pretty darn consistently, these guys are very very close insofar as passing numbers. How can that be you ask? One just looks the part of a passing QB while the other seems to struggle making throws.

The good old eye test. But sometimes…the eye test lies. Or at least can play a trick or two.

Look, earlier in the season, when Shrader took the field, he did appear to struggle throwing. The ball just didn’t look good coming out of his hand. However, over the last couple of games, he seems to be laboring less when throwing the ball. Clearly, he is finding a comfort level back there, likely aided by getting first-team reps in practice, and passes that seemed to be sluggish before seem to have a least a bit more zip now.

That’s not to say the completion percentage doesn’t need some work. In the Florida State game, for instance, despite a relatively strong game, he only completed 56.5% of his passes. So, yeah, the accuracy absolutely still needs to improve, but I think that it can. But game by game, he slowly but surely seems to be adjusting to the role of a quarterback who can run, as opposed to initially where he tended to look like a runner who would throw every now and again.

Ultimately, this is not to say Shrader is a better pure passer than DeVito. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. Statistically they may actually be too close to call. But if Shrader can continue to make smart decisions and the right reads, and can eventually begin working the ball to different parts of the field and different players on it (yes, this is my semi-regular call to throw the ball to the tight ends), the addition of his running threat to the offensive repertoire quite likely DOES make him the better quarterback for the Syracuse football Orange, at least for now.

I think this is what Dino Babers landed on prior to the Liberty game. I think he saw two passers that were consistently coming out close to even in the end, and even though one lacked a few style points along the way, that same one brought something a little extra to the table. I think Babers made the judgment call that, in the Syracuse football offense, Shrader’s ability to run was going to be a far more effective complement to Sean Tucker’s running game than any perceived or real edge DeVito may have had throwing the ball.

There’s a lot of football to be played, and I suppose it’s possible that the QB change may not be permanent. But while many argue that Tommy DeVito didn’t do enough to lose the job in the first place, Garrett Shrader certainly hasn’t done enough to lose it now. And if he continues to show progress in getting the ball where it needs to be, he just may win it for good.