We have finally arrived at the end. Proclamations of doom and terror first uttered back in the summer have brought us to this moment, the cusp of the 2018 NFL draft and perhaps the most pivotal quarterback class in recent memory. As with years past, the battles have raged on endlessly over some of the…
This year, eight talented passers will be on display down in Mobile, Alabama for the 69th Senior Bowl. With a number of teams picking in the Top 10 that might consider drafting a quarterback this year, the signal-callers will be the focus of attention in the coming week. Mark Schofield has studied all of them…
We were waiting for a really weird weekend in college football and, boy did we get it! We always get it. It’s always lying in the weeds waiting to sneak up on us and it never fails. Every year. Here are my thoughts on the week that was. One Loss is Not a Death Sentence…
It is has been 10 years since Jerry Reese’s first draft as the General Manager of the New York Giants and the fans of the renowned franchise still remember many key members of the 2007 draft. Aaron Ross, Kevin Boss, Jay Alford, Steve Smith, and Ahmad Bradshaw were all essential parts in conquering the undefeated…
The days and weeks leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft is a time where we can hypothesize about several different scenarios and hope our favorite team does not swing and miss early, while at the same time hoping that our team finds the hidden gems in the third day of the draft. After a…
Click here for a full explanation of methodology and categories used in the chart above. Mask On, Mask Off: Malik Hooker and Jamal Adams Ohio State’s Malik Hooker has the chance to eventually be the best free safety in the NFL. A bold statement, I know, but when you see Hooker on tape, you know…
If you’ve listened to the Pylon U podcast this season, you’ve probably heard me reference pythagorean expectation, or pythagorean win percentage, many times. Originally designed by Bill James as a way to calculate a baseball team’s projected winning percentage based on runs scored and runs allowed, the formula has been adapted for use in other…
In college football, there are so many ways to score, from long drives to strategy for shorter strikes. Failing at multiple two point conversions over the surer thing though, as Ryan Dukarm explains, hurts. In Week 3 of the 2016 college football season the Oregon Ducks lost a heartbreaker to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, falling 35-32. In…
The Big Ten is shaping up be a highly competitive conference this year. Although much of the conference’s top talent left for the NFL Draft last season, new faces enter will soon be household names. Jeff Feyerer‘s 2016 Big Ten Preview (Read Part 1 here) focuses on those players and teams, and the schemes and…
Like any good researcher, Mark Schofield despises a small sample size. Unfortunately, prospect evaluation is almost always too early, or without all the information necessary. Thus, we have our series: On Two, in which Inside The Pylon examines two plays from a quarterback that address traits that scouts are talking about. Having highlighted the ability of Christian Hackenberg to deliver throws with timing and anticipation, another area where the…
Mark Schofield breaks down Jordan Canzeri’s second touchdown run of the third quarter for Iowa against Nebraska, which took advantage of two poor pursuit angles, from two inexperienced Nebraska defenders, for a long scoring run. Iowa clinched the Big Ten West Division with their 40-20 victory over Purdue, and moved into fourth place of the…
If there’s one thing Mark Schofield loves more than Newcastle United, it is proper design and execution, like on Nebraska’s big score. The past 10 months or so have not been kind to Nebraska fans. Last season began with promise, and then, like so many recent years, it came crashing down. Bo Pelini was fired at the end of…
The College Bowl Season is upon us, and Pylon University is bringing the breakdowns on offense, defense, and special teams, along with the sport’s traditions and great moments. In this edition, it’s the Holiday Bowl preview, one of five games to take in on Saturday. The Matchup WHO: Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3) vs. Southern California Trojans…
In this first installment of Throwback Thursday, Inside The Pylon’s quarterback Mark Schofield looks at the Triple Option used by Nebraska against Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. Each play on a football field is a Matryoshka doll: options nested inside options. Before the snap, the personnel grouping narrows the choices, the pre-snap read of…
Pylon University‘s Optimum Offense play of the week usually involves a quarterback: Jameis Winston, Trevone Boykin and Travis Wilson have all taken home the award this season. However, what Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon did against Nebraska might have been the performance of the year. It started as a battle for sole possession of first place in…
