Examining the relationship between Purdue’s results in 2022 and the expectations for Louisville football in 2023.
Part Two – Receivers
Over the past week, we have been digging into the numbers of the newest transfer players for Louisville football hoping to shine some light on things fans can expect this season. As you know, Louisville football does not only have new players at key positions but also a new coach calling the shots.
This is part two of a three-part breakdown on Jeff Brohm by the numbers. In this series we will only be looking at last year’s Purdue team and what the advanced stats said about the offense. Hopefully, this will give us some insight into what to expect starting September 1st.
In part 2, let’s look at how Brohm utilized his receivers in his offense.
By the Numbers Series on State of Louisville:
Overview
Jeff Brohm has a long list of number-one receivers that he schemes open in his offense.
Last year for Purdue was no different. Charlie Jones was the lead man by a significant margin. He had 138 targets catching 97 of those and turning them into 1,199 yards and 12 touchdowns. Even when he was not open, Purdue was still feeding him the ball giving him 39 contested catches.
There was a massive drop-off after WR1. Tight end Payne Durham was the second-leading receiver with only 550 yards.
After him, WR2 and WR3 combined for only 71 catches and 597 yards. Other receivers were sprinkled in, but we will focus on these four.
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WR 1- The Star
Purdue ’22: Charlie Jones
As mentioned, Charlie Jones was far and away the top target in Brohm’s offense last year. He regularly attacked all areas of the field and was targeted time and time again.
Of his 138 targets, over half were to the middle of the field. He regularly attacked all areas between the hashes and was graded out as high as a 95.5.
Although the center of the field was where he attacked most often, the right side of the field is where he found the endzone the most. Over half of his touchdowns came from attacking the medium and deep parts of the right side of the field.
Tight End- The versatile workhorse
Purdue ’22: Payne Durham
In the Brohm offense, we know that tight end is important, but I am not sure people realize just how important it is.
As mentioned, Durham was the second-leading receiver for Purdue last year. He was targeted 75 times and caught 54 of those attempts.
What is most interesting about the TE 1 for Brohm was where he attacked. Of his 75 targets, 63 of them were in the middle of the field. In fact, he only had 5 receptions outside of the middle of the field on the year.
He was more specifically targeted in the 0–10-yard range, in total he had 36 receptions including 4 touchdowns in that area of the field.
It should also be noted that of his 54 receptions 32 of them were for first downs.
WR 2- The underrated 3rd option
Purdue ’22: TJ Sheffield
Last year, the WR2 was a jack of all trades in the receiving game. His targets were spread out all over the field, but just like Jones, his most efficient areas were in the middle of the field. He did have 7 targets behind the line of scrimmage on plays that were designed to get him in space.
Of the main 4 pass catchers, Sheffield did have the second highest average depth of target behind Charlie Jones.
WR 3- Thinking outside the box
Purdue ’22: Tyrone Tracey
This is where a Brohm offense can get fun. If he sees an athlete that deserves to have touches, he will find ways to get them the ball and see what they can do. Tracey only had 26 receptions for 185 yards, but he was intentionally schemed open to have his chances. His average depth of target was only 2.4 yards and led the top four receivers with yards after the catch per reception.
He spent most of his time (86%) working out of the slot and had 16 of his 26 receptions behind the line of scrimmage. Although he was unable to get into the end zone, he was a player that defenses still had to constantly worry about because you just never knew when he was going to be given the chance at an explosive play.
Breakdown
The reason that people are so excited for Louisville football receiver Jamari Thrash this year is because of how Brohm has used his WR1.
They are the central point of the offense, and they always have stats to back it up. What I cannot over-emphasize enough is how good Brohm is at scheming his guys into space and then letting the athlete make a play. There is a chance that this year is just like every other year for Brohm where the WR1 is the go-to guy every snap. I also think there is a chance that we see more guys being involved then what he historically does because of the amount of athletic talent at the skill position.
It is also obvious why the uncertainty at the Tight End has been a bit of a concern leading into this season. Their ability to make plays is central to the offense that Brohm wants to run.
Whoever ends up getting the nod as our Tight end should be set for a big season. Joey Gatewood, Josh Lifson, and freshman Jamari Johnson are the names that you should look out for, but I cannot get the idea of wide receiver Chris Bell playing Tight end out of my head. We know that Jeff is willing to get creative and if none of the Tight ends have claimed the spot, I hope we see some creativity to who gets a shot at the position.
Finally, I am most excited to see who plays that WR3 role and who gets those behind-the-line-of-scrimmage targets. Ahmari Huggins-Bruce is the most likely player to step into this role, but I believe that freshman Cataurus Hicks or Maurice Turner could also be players who could get involved to scare defenses.
We have so much upside at the wide receiver position this year that it is hard to not be excited.
Jeff Brohm knows how to let his players make plays and he has a host of players to choose from to do that. We will know soon enough after game 1 for Louisville football.
