Two games into the Bryant Shirreffs era, some UConn fans are already lauding him as the best quarterback to come through Storrs since Dan Orlovsky.
I know I don’t need to point out the quality of the Huskies’ first two opponents this season, but I’ll do so anyway: game one was against an FCS school and game two was against one of the worst FBS schools in the country. Nevertheless, they were wins and Shirreffs appeared competent. That is reason enough to be excited.
So let’s unfairly compare his performance to those of his predecessors after only two starts.
As you’ll see, Shirreffs appears to be the best quarterback to play for UConn since the legendary…
| QB | Att. | Comp. | % | Yds | TD | INT | Rating | Rsh Att | Rsh Yds | Rsh Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryant Shirreffs | 45 | 31 | 68.90% | 472 | 2 | 1 | 167.2 | 22 | 64 | 2.9 |
| Casey Cochran | 60 | 33 | 55.00% | 338 | 3 | 3 | 108.8 | 4 | -14 | -3.5 |
| Chandler Whitmer | 52 | 30 | 56.70% | 423 | 0 | 2 | 118.3 | 9 | -16 | -1.8 |
| Dan Orlovsky | 57 | 26 | 45.60% | 283 | 2 | 2 | 91.8 | 6 | -21 | -3.5 |
| DJ Hernandez | 75 | 37 | 49.30% | 446 | 5 | 1 | 118.6 | 39 | 119 | 3.1 |
| Johnny McEntee | 39 | 18 | 46.20% | 212 | 0 | 3 | 76.4 | 5 | -31 | -6.2 |
| Matt Bonislawksi | 43 | 29 | 67.40% | 338 | 4 | 1 | 159.5 | 18 | 97 | 5.4 |
| Tyler Lorenzen | 56 | 39 | 69.60% | 484 | 4 | 2 | 158.7 | 26 | 98 | 3.8 |
| Zach Frazer | 59 | 32 | 54.20% | 300 | 1 | 3 | 86.8 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Tyler Lorenzen!
I guess. It really depends on how you look at it. Shirreffs has the best passer rating out of anyone in this span, if you put a ton of stock in that. Lorenzen threw for more yards and completed more passes (at a higher rate, too) out of anyone. DJ Hernandez, who spent more time at wide receiver than at quarterback, ran the most, but Matt Bonislawski picked up more yards per carry.
Then there’s that bum Orlovsky.
(Not really a bum…the poor guy started as a true freshman while UConn was a transitional Division I-A member. And again, it’s only two starts. These numbers don’t mean much.)
So there you go. Great start for Shirreffs, but we’ll probably know a lot more about him after the Missouri game.
