Kentucky PFF grades and snap counts versus Akron

We’ve seen multiple breakdowns of Kentucky’s 35-3 victory over Akron on Saturday night. From a look at the explosive plays to tight end utilization to the lack of affinity for the run game, the KSR staff has been busy bringing you all the takes. It’s now time to defer to the national analytics guys and let us know what we missed.

If this is your first time looking at PFF grades, the folks over at Pro Football Focus use advanced metrics to assign individual scores to each player’s performance on a scale of 1-100. For reference, 60 indicates an average game, anything above 80 is a very good game, and a number in the 40s or below means it wasn’t that player’s best outing.

What is good about these grades is that they go beyond standard box score statistics and break down every aspect of every play of the game.

Defense

Brad White’s bend-but-don’t-break Kentucky defense was on full display against Akron. Despite a few drives they might wish they had back, they did not allow a touchdown all game. Maxwell Hairston had a huge game, making several big plays, and the analytics backed up that basic observation. He finished second on the defense in PFF grades with a score of 86.8.

Reserve lineman, Josaih Hayes, led all defensive players in individual grades with a 90.5 despite only seeing the field for 15 snaps. He also only had one tackle, so this is one of those issues where you kind of have to just trust the math.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it is a little surprising to see that Trevin Wallace only had a score of 48.7, however, a closer look showed he had a solid game with regards to tackling and pass rushing, with grades of 79 and 77.1 in those subcategories, respectively.

Kentucky Defensive PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus Akron

Defense
Player	Pos	Snaps	Grade
Josaih Hayes	DL	15	90.5
Maxwell Hairston	CB	25	86.8
Daveren Rayner	LB	14	83.9
Jonquis Hardaway	CB	20	82.9
Keeshawn Silver	DE	15	78.3
Tre’vonn Rybka	DL	28	77
Jordan Robinson	CB	25	73.6
Andru Phillips	CB	50	72.7
Jantzen Dunn	CB	13	71.1
Deone Walker	DT	37	68.2
Kahlil Saunders	LB	19	68.1
Jalen Geiger	S	32	66.9
Tyreese Fearby	LB	21	66.3
D’Eryk Jackson	LB	40	64.7
Zion Childress	S	38	64.6
Martez Thrower	LB	18	61.8
Alex Afari	CB	32	61.6
Jordan Lovett	S	35	61
Darrion Henry-Young	DT	16	61
JJ Weaver	LB	37	55.8
Keaton Wade	LB	19	54.9
Jamarius Dinkis	DT	27	53.7
Octavious Oxendine	DE	17	52.5
Trevin Wallace	LB	39	48.7
Noah Matthews	LB	29	38.1

Offense

Forget the mistakes, the premium stat gatherers continue to grade Devin Leary’s performances well. Kentucky’s QB1 finished the game with a PFF score of 82.6, third-best among offensive players. It was Tayvion Robinson, similar to last week against Eastern Kentucky, who led all starters in grades with a score of 83.3.

Demie Sumo-Karngbaye wasn’t on the field much, but made the most of his nine snaps, having a great game by advanced analytics standards, leading all offensive players with a grade of 90.2.

At the bottom of the list, it isn’t a surprise to see Jager Burton’s overall grade low after sending two snaps over Leary’s head, however, it is important to point out that he had a great pass-blocking score of 85.4.

Kentucky Offensive PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus Akron

Offense
Player	Pos	Snaps	Grade
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye	RB	9	90.2
Tayvion Robinson	WR	30	83.3
Devin Leary	QB	45	82.6
Ray Davis	RB	36	77.2
Anthony Brown-Stephens	WR	11	74.7
Jeremy Flax	T	30	72.6
JuTahn McClain	RB	6	72.2
Dylan Ray	G	50	72.1
Josh Kattus	TE	23	70
Jordan Dingle	TE	20	69.2
Khamari Anderson	TE	6	66.9
Marques Cox	T	46	66
Ramon Jefferson	RB	5	64.6
Eli Cox	G	46	64.5
Barion Brown	WR	31	64.4
Courtland Ford	T	20	61.4
Brenden Bates	TE	14	52.3
Izayah Cummings	TE	12	49.1
Dane Key	WR	39	47.3
Jager Burton	C	50	45