B1G Yards Per Catch

A lot of this ground has been plowed already.  Seth has an excellent on Yards Per Target which specifically covers a lot of this, and is probably a better measure than yards per reception.  Though I'd think YPT would include QB inaccuracy, where YPC would not?  And the front page has noted the PFF case for Ronnie Bell being pretty awesome.  And just a quick note, there is some evidence that yards per reception is an indicator of NFL success.   So it's a pretty good thing to have your team's WR's be good at. 

In any case, this post is really just an opportunity to talk more about Nico Collins and Ronnie Bell.  

From teamrankings.com I pulled the Top 100 receivers nationally last year based on yards per catch, then sorted on the B1G, and posted the results below.  To give some context, the #1 receiver in this category was Gerald Saunders from Air Force at 24.9, which is surprising but not also not surprising.  National stars CeeDee Lamb from Oklahoma and Ja'Marr Chase from LSU were in the top five, at 21.4 and 21.2, respectively. 

But the first B1G receiver to appear on the list is Rashod Bateman at #9.  Given he's now opted out, your leading B1G returning receiver in YPC is Nico Collins at 19.7.  We all know if not for the pass interference penalties this would have been higher.  An inordinate % of my desire to see a 2020 season is related to wanting to see what Nico Collins can do when you THROW IT TO NICO.  

Ronnie Bell ranked #88 nationally in this metric, but #11 in the B1G.  He's #6 in terms of returning B1G receivers.  So Michigan has the #1 and #6 returning receivers when looking at YPC.  That's pretty great.  And if you can lean in for a moment, I can whisper: Giles Jackson came in at 15.8.  Let's throw the ball, huh?  (though let's run it too because our RBs are also awesome) 

The B1G had 11 WRs ranked in the top 100 based on last year's YPC, and part of my delving into this was the belief that having Collins and Bell returning had to be unique in the conference.  But to my surprise Iowa (!) also has two guys on this list.  May explain the Oliver Martin transfer.  OSU has Chris Olave, but I expected to see more, even with known departures.  And in every season preview I've read, WR is noted as a big concern for PSU.  It's understood that they don't have much beyond Dotson (no other receiver has more than 12 career catches), but he's very good.  And they've got the excellent Pat Freiermuth returning at TE.  They'll be fine. 

The last thing of note in terms of YPC were the B1G team totals.  In terms of this stat last year, Michigan was... excellent?  Second in the B1G.  I did not expect that.  Better than OSU (though look at their TDs, goodness).  There may be context here that I don't understand, but it looks like Speed In Space worked.  I hope we have a QB who can improve on last year, and I hope we get to see it.