Quarterback to Back: Drew Mestemaker Squares Off against UCF’s Keyone Jenkins

The Cowboys are back home this weekend to host a UCF team that’s dealt with some early quarterback issues.

Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker will square off against UCF’s Keyone Jenkins, a former FIU transfer that started the year as the Knights’ backup before QB1 Alonzo Barnett II went down with injury.

Jenkins has started the last three games, going 2-1. He also went down briefly with an injury in the loss to Houston last week but did return and is expected to start.

Let’s take a look at how Mestemaker and Jenkins stack up by the numbers before digging into the matchup.

Jenkins spent three years as the starter at Florida International. In 33 games leading the Panthers’ offense, he threw for 6,713 yards and 42 touchdowns to 25 interceptions while completing 61% of his passes. He’s also effective when he keeps it, having run for 13 TDs over his time at FIU.

Since Barnett went down in Week 2, Scott Frost and Co. have put more and more on Jenkins’ plate when it comes to running the offense. In his first start in against Georgia State, he had 41 running snaps to just 18 passing. A week later in the win over TCU, the split was down to 33 runs to 24 passes and then last week he finally was given the reins to open it up. He had 42 passing plays to just 18 run plays.

Jenkins led the Knights to a 17-0 lead over the ranked Cougars on the road last Saturday. He actually had the Knights in position late to make a bid for the upset last week in Houston. UCF held a 10-point lead late in the third quarter when a pass of his was tipped and intercepted. He got injured attempting the tackle and had to leave the game. The resulting return set up Houston on the 2-yard line for an eventual touchdown.

UCF went to third-string QB sophomore Kaleb Annett who threw the first three pass attempts of his career. Jenkins would return in the fourth quarter but apparently didn’t look 100%. He finished completing just three of his last eight attempts.

Jenkins is not the type of quarterback that is necessarily going to stretch your defense. According to Pro Football Focus, 9.2% of Jenkins’ throws are considered deep, but he’s only completed one of them this season (1-for-7). For comparison’s sake, 12% of Mestemaker’s throws have been deep (20-plus) yards, but he’s completed 71% of those (12-for-17).

But Jenkins did account for some chunk plays against Houston as they let him open it up a bit. He had four passing plays of at least 20 yards after just two over 20 yards his first two starts.

The Knights have also depended on Jenkins to use his wheels. He’s averaging nearly seven rush attempts per game since he took the reins, and he’s scored three TDs on the ground.

The Knights’ defense has been stingy against Power Four teams. They held Houston scoreless in the first half and to just 27 all game. Strange enough, they gave up 30 points to Georgia State. But the point is that Jenkins hasn’t been asked to put up big numbers to compete. If the Cowboys break loose for a couple big plays early, how will he handle going from more of a game manager to a playmaker?

Jenkins is an efficient passer with the ability to beat you with his legs if you get greedy. The key for the Cowboys will be their ability to bring pressure without blitzing and to play disciplined on the edge. If OSU can make things tough on Jenkins and do what they do best on third downs, it will go a long way towards a Cowboy win.