Is J.W. Walsh the (Second) Best Backup in the Country?

Let’s put Ohio State to the side for now. That’s a preposterous, once-in-a-lifetime situation. Is there any team outside of Columbus that wouldn’t trade their backup QB this year for J.W. Walsh?

For that, let’s turn to our good friend over at ESPN, the handy QBR statistic. I’m still not sure what this statistic measures in totality, but I do know that the top three QBs in QBR last season were Marcus Mariota, J.T. Barrett and Nick Marshall. So it measures something good because all of those dudes can go.

Back to Walsh. Let’s throw out last season (1.5 games) and look at the two before it. In 2012, his adjusted QBR was 81.9 (15th in the country among all qualified and unqualified QBs). In 2013, it was 74.5 (41st in the country) even though he got pulled in the sixth game of the year.

Here’s how those seasons stacked up in terms of QBR among the country’s leaders last year and what role each of those quarterbacks will play this season.

So Trevor Knight and J.W. Walsh, eh?

A quick scan of 2013 tells me Davis Webb had an 80.1 QBR in 2013 and also might not be the starter. So he’s in the conversation. And there are certainly some freshmen that will be backups who would be better than Walsh. There are also unique situations like, say, Kyle Allen at Texas A&M. Allen posted a 77.4 QBR last year (without enough plays to qualify for QBR) and might not start.

But Walsh is right there among the most productive QBs in college football. He’s incredibly unique in that he’s had a lot of success in the college level and is still the clear backup.

I’ve been on him pretty hard as a starter, and rightfully so. He wasn’t the director OSU needed behind center. But as a backup? I couldn’t be more thrilled.

“We’re very lucky to have J.W. Walsh on our football team,” said Mike Gundy at Big 12 media days. “J.W. is going to play. He’ll be a factor in the success of our football team this season.”

And it’s a perfect role for him. The hybrid player-coach who can rally the troops and provide a spark when needed. The other OSU might have the best QB situation in the country, but ours isn’t far behind.