Question for the dirty, old TBSers

bananasnblondes

With all this shit with Sarell (and Eason last year), I keep hearing things like "Sarell is the best prospect to come out of Washington since Bledsoe" or "Eason is the top instate QB since Bledsoe".

I wasn't yet a teen boy myself at the time of Bledsoe at WSU, so I have to ask - Was Bledsoe really that level of high school recruit (more prolific than Reggie, Stewart, the Huards, etc.) or has this just become trendy to say among professional TBSers when discussing local recruits?

And if it is true, why the fuck was he at Wazzu? It's not like they were good back then either.

Tequilla

Regarding Bledsoe ... besides being an Eastern Washington kid, the Cougs during his HS years were the more pass happy team, beat UW in 1988, and prior to the end of 1989 when the signs of what was to come were visible, UW was looking like a program that was going backwards.

dnc

I remember Bledsoe being a pretty huge deal before getting to WSU, but I was really young so I could be misremembering. Pretty sure he was an Eastern Washington kid and maybe there was something about the depth chart at WSU being a bit more favorable? Pretty hazy though.

CuntWaffle

Bigger markets have a much bigger advantage now than they did back then. Pullman was certainly no Seattle but the gap wasn't as bad.

Dennis_DeYoung

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

HuskyJW

Bledsoe's dad wanted Don James to promise that Drew would start as a freshman....he gave him the opportunity to compete. Hence WSU

Baseman

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Wombat_Guernica

There are quite a few factual errors in this thread.

Starting with JW's suggestion that Mac Bledsoe asked James guarantee him a starting spot... I have trouble believing that. I am not a fan of Mac Bledsoe, but I know Mac wanted his kids to earn their way in life... Also Mac played at UW.... from my memory of the situation Drew's grandfather played at WSU and part of the reason for going to WSU was to honor his grandfather... and also he would be able to throw the ball all over the place. There is also a little known story of a conversation that Drew had with John Elway about Stanford, Elway discouraged him from going to the farm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Washington_Huskies_football_team

DDY states that Mac Bledsoe was Drew's head coach in high school... at one point he was a co-head coach but during Drew's senior year Gary Myers was the head coach. Drew did not start until the fourth or fifth game of his freshman year at WSU, Brad Gossen was the starter. No starting from the get - go.

Am I lover of Drew? No. Is he a good guy? Yeah. Would I chit chat if I ran into him? Yeah. I've said a total of two words to him in the last 25 years because - for me - he is just another guy I knew as a kid and just another local kid who went to WSU... many people I went to high school still idolize and cling on.

Was he a huge recruit in high school that brought a ton of people to WW to check him out? Yeah.

There was another in state QB recruit (Walla Walla) that garnered more attention than Drew or Skinny... Jared Jones went to Free Shoes in Tallahassee but flamed out. Bobby Bowden came to town to sign him.

http://www.seminoles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32900&ATCLID=209588233

WWHS football superiority guy

Fuck off

Dennis_DeYoung

Wombat_Guernica said:

There are quite a few factual errors in this thread.

Starting with JW's suggestion that Mac Bledsoe asked James guarantee him a starting spot... I have trouble believing that. I am not a fan of Mac Bledsoe, but I know Mac wanted his kids to earn their way in life... Also Mac played at UW.... from my memory of the situation Drew's grandfather played at WSU and part of the reason for going to WSU was to honor his grandfather... and also he would be able to throw the ball all over the place. There is also a little known story of a conversation that Drew had with John Elway about Stanford, Elway discouraged him from going to the farm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Washington_Huskies_football_team

DDY states that Mac Bledsoe was Drew's head coach in high school... at one point he was a co-head coach but during Drew's senior year Gary Myers was the head coach. Drew did not start until the fourth or fifth game of his freshman year at WSU, Brad Gossen was the starter. No starting from the get - go.

Am I lover of Drew? No. Is he a good guy? Yeah. Would I chit chat if I ran into him? Yeah. I've said a total of two words to him in the last 25 years because - for me - he is just another guy I knew as a kid and just another local kid who went to WSU... many people I went to high school still idolize and cling on.

Was he a huge recruit in high school that brought a ton of people to WW to check him out? Yeah.

There was another in state QB recruit (Walla Walla) that garnered more attention than Drew or Skinny... Jared Jones went to Free Shoes in Tallahassee but flamed out. Bobby Bowden came to town to sign him.

http://www.seminoles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32900&ATCLID=209588233

WWHS football superiority guy

Fuck off

Essentially the story is: Drew was a big time recruit. He went to WSU because for some reason at that time big time kids considered WSU, though they don't really anymore.

He chose WSU because of a relatively easy path to playing time.

Wombat_Guernica

^
Perfect boiled down summary

TierbsHsotBoobs

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Baseman

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Explain, professor.

RoadDawg55

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Says the guy who brought up Keith Price's stats to pretend he was good.

Tequilla

RoadDawg55 said:

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Says the guy who brought up Keith Price's stats to pretend he was good.

Comparing 2011-2013 to 2016 is way more comparable to 1990 to 2016 ...

If the why of that needs to be explained to you then you are a fucktard

Baseman

Tequilla said:

RoadDawg55 said:

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Says the guy who brought up Keith Price's stats to pretend he was good.

Comparing 2011-2013 to 2016 is way more comparable to 1990 to 2016 ...

If the why of that needs to be explained to you then you are a fucktard

What? Ill actually read your explanation if you have one

RoadDawg55

Tequilla said:

RoadDawg55 said:

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Says the guy who brought up Keith Price's stats to pretend he was good.

Comparing 2011-2013 to 2016 is way more comparable to 1990 to 2016 ...

If the why of that needs to be explained to you then you are a fucktard

It doesn't. Quit being a thin skinned cunt who is disagreeing simply to disagree.

Tequilla

RoadDawg55 said:

Tequilla said:

RoadDawg55 said:

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Says the guy who brought up Keith Price's stats to pretend he was good.

Comparing 2011-2013 to 2016 is way more comparable to 1990 to 2016 ...

If the why of that needs to be explained to you then you are a fucktard

It doesn't. Quit being a thin skinned cunt who is disagreeing simply to disagree.

You assume a lot ... particularly in what you think that I think ... you assume wrong often

Quietcowskee

I watched the Richland Bombers butt-hammer his ass multiple times. QB Holdren was at least as highly recrooted.

Tequilla

Baseman said:

Tequilla said:

RoadDawg55 said:

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Says the guy who brought up Keith Price's stats to pretend he was good.

Comparing 2011-2013 to 2016 is way more comparable to 1990 to 2016 ...

If the why of that needs to be explained to you then you are a fucktard

What? Ill actually read your explanation if you have one

There is a significant difference between offensive football today, particularly in the passing game, in the college level today as compared to 25 years ago. There's massive differences in route concepts, play calling, etc ... and that is on both sides of the ball. A few very quick examples:

1) 1990 was in the midst of the run and shoot from Houston ... between Houston and what BYU was doing, the wide open passing game was few and far between at the time. The run and shoot had been run in various forms in the professional game but it was very new to the college game. Those offenses have led in many ways to the offshoot of the Mike Leach spread and many variations that have also spun the threat of the QB running out of the spread formation ... which has been very popular in Texas HS levels going on 15+ years now.

2) Passing in 1990 was generally viewed as a last resort ... if you take the top 3 teams in the PAC 12 that year (Washington, USC, and Oregon) on a per game average:

Washington: Ran the ball 43x per game, threw it 22x per game
USC: Ran the ball 45x per game, threw it 28x per game
Oregon: Ran the ball 42x per game, threw it 35x per game

In comparison, in 2016, in conference games, only Arizona and Stanford ran the ball on 60% or more of their offensive plays.

3) Go back and watch film of QB drops, fundamentals, etc. ... college kids today are way ahead of where they were 25 years ago. The QB position at the college level was still very developmental where massive growth from year to year was seen. Now, kids often come in early and while you still see improvement they are far better prepared whether it comes from their high schools running a heavy passing attack, QB development camps, 7 on 7's, etc. Brett Favre played for his Dad in HS and ran the option. Watch college footage of Mark Brunell and Billy Joe Hobert dropping back to pass ... often it was a backpedal.

In the last 5 years, there's always going to be innovation that is going to change what is being done. But by and large, there hasn't been any significant new developments in offensive theory in the college game over the last 5 years that make for an inadequate comparison. Many teams run the spread and the spread is run in both a run and pass focused basis. Nobody ran the option out of the shotgun 25 years ago. The option was run but it was way more consistent with the wishbone and the pass was not a serious concern. Today, take what Oregon, Ohio St, etc have done with running the spread option that has not sacrificed the threat of the passing game.

If you need more convincing, go back and watch for example the 1973 Sugar Bowl (or really any USC-based Rose Bowl from the 70s), the 1990 Rose Bowl (UW vs Iowa - pay attention to Iowa's formations), and then compare to what the UW offense of today is doing. The level of innovation is so much more today that it will blow your mind. For example, if you watch the 1973 Sugar Bowl (Notre Dame vs Alabama), you will realize that the offenses basically had at most 4-5 different plays/formations and each formation had about 3-4 play options off of it. It wasn't complicated at all.

2001400ex

Tequilla said:

Baseman said:

Tequilla said:

RoadDawg55 said:

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Says the guy who brought up Keith Price's stats to pretend he was good.

Comparing 2011-2013 to 2016 is way more comparable to 1990 to 2016 ...

If the why of that needs to be explained to you then you are a fucktard

What? Ill actually read your explanation if you have one

There is a significant difference between offensive football today, particularly in the passing game, in the college level today as compared to 25 years ago. There's massive differences in route concepts, play calling, etc ... and that is on both sides of the ball. A few very quick examples:

1) 1990 was in the midst of the run and shoot from Houston ... between Houston and what BYU was doing, the wide open passing game was few and far between at the time. The run and shoot had been run in various forms in the professional game but it was very new to the college game. Those offenses have led in many ways to the offshoot of the Mike Leach spread and many variations that have also spun the threat of the QB running out of the spread formation ... which has been very popular in Texas HS levels going on 15+ years now.

2) Passing in 1990 was generally viewed as a last resort ... if you take the top 3 teams in the PAC 12 that year (Washington, USC, and Oregon) on a per game average:

Washington: Ran the ball 43x per game, threw it 22x per game
USC: Ran the ball 45x per game, threw it 28x per game
Oregon: Ran the ball 42x per game, threw it 35x per game

In comparison, in 2016, in conference games, only Arizona and Stanford ran the ball on 60% or more of their offensive plays.

3) Go back and watch film of QB drops, fundamentals, etc. ... college kids today are way ahead of where they were 25 years ago. The QB position at the college level was still very developmental where massive growth from year to year was seen. Now, kids often come in early and while you still see improvement they are far better prepared whether it comes from their high schools running a heavy passing attack, QB development camps, 7 on 7's, etc. Brett Favre played for his Dad in HS and ran the option. Watch college footage of Mark Brunell and Billy Joe Hobert dropping back to pass ... often it was a backpedal.

In the last 5 years, there's always going to be innovation that is going to change what is being done. But by and large, there hasn't been any significant new developments in offensive theory in the college game over the last 5 years that make for an inadequate comparison. Many teams run the spread and the spread is run in both a run and pass focused basis. Nobody ran the option out of the shotgun 25 years ago. The option was run but it was way more consistent with the wishbone and the pass was not a serious concern. Today, take what Oregon, Ohio St, etc have done with running the spread option that has not sacrificed the threat of the passing game.

If you need more convincing, go back and watch for example the 1973 Sugar Bowl (or really any USC-based Rose Bowl from the 70s), the 1990 Rose Bowl (UW vs Iowa - pay attention to Iowa's formations), and then compare to what the UW offense of today is doing. The level of innovation is so much more today that it will blow your mind. For example, if you watch the 1973 Sugar Bowl (Notre Dame vs Alabama), you will realize that the offenses basically had at most 4-5 different plays/formations and each formation had about 3-4 play options off of it. It wasn't complicated at all.

I was going to go with the fact that QBs with a 54.3% completion in college don't get drafted early now. But your analysis works too.

Tequilla

2001400ex said:

Tequilla said:

Baseman said:

Tequilla said:

RoadDawg55 said:

TierbsHsotBoobs said:

Baseman said:

Dennis_DeYoung said:

Bledsoe was a 5-star all everything recruit. At the time, our depth was stacked (Brunell, Hobert) and there was very little chance of him playing early.

On the other hand, it was obvious he would start from the get go at WSU. Back then WSU could get some big time kids still. His dad, Mac, was the coach at WWHS and wanted him to stay in state.

He came down to UW/WSU and went to WSU for early playing time. He started his true freshman year and left after his junior year.

Skinny and Drew were the same level of recruit. Max Browne and Brock Huard were about the same as well with the most recent 3 winning Gatorade POY for all of HS.

This. Billy Joe Hobart was the Gatorade State Player of the year and if memory serves, was the #1 rated QB recruit nationally in '89.

Billy Joe was a stud but Bledsoe was better. I saw both play in HS. Eason IMO was the better prospect (more polished) than Bledsoe out of HS. (Stats below)

Comparing passing stats between 1990 and 2016 is really dumb.

Says the guy who brought up Keith Price's stats to pretend he was good.

Comparing 2011-2013 to 2016 is way more comparable to 1990 to 2016 ...

If the why of that needs to be explained to you then you are a fucktard

What? Ill actually read your explanation if you have one

There is a significant difference between offensive football today, particularly in the passing game, in the college level today as compared to 25 years ago. There's massive differences in route concepts, play calling, etc ... and that is on both sides of the ball. A few very quick examples:

1) 1990 was in the midst of the run and shoot from Houston ... between Houston and what BYU was doing, the wide open passing game was few and far between at the time. The run and shoot had been run in various forms in the professional game but it was very new to the college game. Those offenses have led in many ways to the offshoot of the Mike Leach spread and many variations that have also spun the threat of the QB running out of the spread formation ... which has been very popular in Texas HS levels going on 15+ years now.

2) Passing in 1990 was generally viewed as a last resort ... if you take the top 3 teams in the PAC 12 that year (Washington, USC, and Oregon) on a per game average:

Washington: Ran the ball 43x per game, threw it 22x per game
USC: Ran the ball 45x per game, threw it 28x per game
Oregon: Ran the ball 42x per game, threw it 35x per game

In comparison, in 2016, in conference games, only Arizona and Stanford ran the ball on 60% or more of their offensive plays.

3) Go back and watch film of QB drops, fundamentals, etc. ... college kids today are way ahead of where they were 25 years ago. The QB position at the college level was still very developmental where massive growth from year to year was seen. Now, kids often come in early and while you still see improvement they are far better prepared whether it comes from their high schools running a heavy passing attack, QB development camps, 7 on 7's, etc. Brett Favre played for his Dad in HS and ran the option. Watch college footage of Mark Brunell and Billy Joe Hobert dropping back to pass ... often it was a backpedal.

In the last 5 years, there's always going to be innovation that is going to change what is being done. But by and large, there hasn't been any significant new developments in offensive theory in the college game over the last 5 years that make for an inadequate comparison. Many teams run the spread and the spread is run in both a run and pass focused basis. Nobody ran the option out of the shotgun 25 years ago. The option was run but it was way more consistent with the wishbone and the pass was not a serious concern. Today, take what Oregon, Ohio St, etc have done with running the spread option that has not sacrificed the threat of the passing game.

If you need more convincing, go back and watch for example the 1973 Sugar Bowl (or really any USC-based Rose Bowl from the 70s), the 1990 Rose Bowl (UW vs Iowa - pay attention to Iowa's formations), and then compare to what the UW offense of today is doing. The level of innovation is so much more today that it will blow your mind. For example, if you watch the 1973 Sugar Bowl (Notre Dame vs Alabama), you will realize that the offenses basically had at most 4-5 different plays/formations and each formation had about 3-4 play options off of it. It wasn't complicated at all.

I was going to go with the fact that QBs with a 54.3% completion in college don't get drafted early now. But your analysis works too.

Up until the last few days I didn't think that the idea of comparing college QBs 25 years ago with today based on stats as if they were similar data sets was really debatable in that they were apples and oranges ...