Pac 12 Coach Claims Shedeur Sanders Takes Sacks To Protect Completion Percentage, Which Is Certainly A Theory
Shedeur Sanders is having a phenomenal first season under center at Colorado. When watching him in the pocket it takes all of about three seconds to realize just how talented he is. And when you look at Sanders' actual statistics, they legitimately jump off the page.
The junior signal-caller has thrown for nearly 1,800 yards through five games this season to go along with 15 passing touchdowns and just two interceptions. While his passing yards and touchdowns immediately grab your attention, his completion percentage of 74.8% may be the most striking number of all.
Sanders' completion percentage of 74.8% is the eighth highest in all of college football. That success rate is that much more impressive when you consider his 214 passing attempts are the fifth most in the country.
Shedeur Sanders may be taking sacks on purpose, according to one Pac 12 assistant coach. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
The one negative number attached to Sanders' season thus far, however, are his sacks taken. He's already been sacked 25 times this year, and being put on your back five times per game, on average, isn't exactly an ideal game plan.
One Pac 12 coach has taken notice of Sanders' high sack rate and believes there's more to the story.
“I think they want to rack up some stats for Shedeur. He really holds on to the ball a long time. I think he takes sacks because he doesn’t want to affect his completion percentage," the anonymous assistant coach told The Athletic. "He’s playing a little different than he did earlier in the season. Before he showed that he was willing to step up and escape through the B-gaps. Now, he’s retreating more.”
Claiming that a quarterback is taking sacks, and therefore hurting his team's chances of winning a game, is quite the statement to make.
We do live in a day and age where we pick apart every statistic and number imaginable - and the same goes for NFL scouts studying Sanders. But suggesting he's holding onto the ball instead of throwing it away to save a few completion percentage points is nothing short of absurd.
It was probably a wise move for the Pac 12 assistant coach to go the anonymous route with his quote.