The biggest advantage of signing players through the NCAA transfer portal is that they’re known commodities, relatively speaking. Unlike high school or junior-college players, most have taken reps against other Division I players, whether in games, practices or both.
There’s also, in many cases, data.
Pro Football Focus grades every player on every team. If a school is interested in a transfer who has taken a substantial number of snaps, it has access to numbers that don’t appear in a common box score. Those statistics can help programs make better-informed decisions about potential personnel additions.
Arizona brought in eight transfers from FBS programs in 2022 recruiting cycle. Seven are eligible to play this season. All are expected to have roles.
In a special spring edition of “Cats Stats,” we picked through the 2021 PFF profiles of the Wildcats’ two highest-profile pickups, quarterback Jayden de Laura and receiver Jacob Cowing, to find out if their numbers matched their reputations. We quickly discovered why the UA coaching staff was so interested in bringing them aboard.
Here’s what we found out about de Laura and Cowing, plus some nuggets on a handful of other impact transfers:
QB Jayden de Laura
De Laura, who began his career at Washington State, ranked seventh among qualifying quarterbacks in the Pac-12 with an overall grade of 77.2. He was one spot below former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis and one above ex-Oregon QB Anthony Brown.
To put that 77.2 figure in some perspective, the overall grades for Arizona’s quarterbacks last year were as follows: Will Plummer 64.2, Jordan McCloud 57.5, Gunner Cruz 44.2
Where did de Laura stand out the most? He led the Pac-12 in what PFF calls “big-time throws,” which it defines as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.” De Laura had 25 big-time throws. Brown was second with 22.
De Laura frequently displayed an ability to make big plays during spring practice. He also threw more interceptions than he would have liked. Not coincidentally, he had the most turnover-worthy plays (16) of any Pac-12 passer in 2021.
De Laura is an aggressive quarterback, as his average depth of target (ADOT) also illustrates. De Laura had the third-highest ADOT in the conference at 10.0 yards. Plummer averaged 9.1 yards, McCloud 6.2, Cruz 5.2.
Jayden de Laura (7) led the Pac-12 in what Pro Football Focus calls “big-time throws” last year at Washington State.
On passes thrown 20 or more yards, De Laura completed 26 of 63 attempts for 890 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. No Pac-12 QB had more completions, attempts or yards on passes of 20-plus yards. Arizona’s quarterbacks were just 10 of 45 for 379 yards with one TD and six picks.
It’s somewhat unfair to compare de Laura to last year’s trio of UA quarterbacks because their circumstances were so different. A handful of PFF stats help illuminate that point.
De Laura was pressured on 86 of 392 dropbacks, or 21.9%. All three of Arizona’s quarterbacks were pressured at least 34.5% of the time. Their collective rate was 35.8%.
De Laura did a better job than two of the three at avoiding sacks. PFF charts percentage of pressures that turn into sacks. De Laura’s rate was 16.3%. McCloud bested him at 12.9%. Plummer’s figure was 18.9%, Cruz’s 20.9%.
How did de Laura fare when under pressure? He did all right. His 33.9% completion rate ranked just 10th in the Pac-12, but he had a 5-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and the fewest picks of any qualifier. Plummer completed 36.8% of his passes when under pressure but had a 1-4 TD-INT ratio.
De Laura was kept clean at a higher rate (78.1%) than any qualifying Pac-12 passer. He threw the most touchdowns (18) when kept clean — but also tied for the most interceptions (eight).
Arizona’s offensive line still has question marks, so it’s reasonable to assume de Laura will face more pressure here than at Washington State. He also will utilize play-action to a much greater extent in Jedd Fisch’s pro-style system.
De Laura had the lowest play-action rate (11.0%) of any Pac-12 qualifier last year. Plummer had the third highest (31.5%). De Laura made the most of those limited opportunities, posting a 6-2 TD-INT ratio when using play-action.
WR Jacob Cowing
Several stats suggest de Laura and Cowing will work well together.
Cowing primarily lined up in the slot at UTEP (289 slot snaps on passing plays, 92 wide snaps). He had the fifth-highest grade out of the slot in the nation (91.2) among qualifying receivers. That will continue to be his primary role for the Wildcats.
De Laura’s top two receivers last season, Travell Harris and Calvin Jackson Jr., did most of their damage out of the slot. They caught 71 and 62 passes, respectively, as slot receivers — the top two totals in the Pac-12. Arizona’s Stanley Berryhill III was third with 57.
Cowing was brought in to be Berryhill’s successor, but Cowing had a different role at UTEP. He was much more of a big-play weapon.
Cowing’s ADOT with the Miners was 15.2 yards; Berryhill’s was 6.8 yards.
Cowing ranked second in the nation behind only Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba in yards per route run – a measure of productivity and efficiency. Cowing averaged 3.82 yards per route – almost double Arizona’s highest figure (Dorian Singer, 2.02).
Cowing made big plays in different ways for UTEP. He averaged 7.0 yards after catch per reception, which would have ranked second on the 2021 Wildcats behind Singer (7.8). The next-best figure was 5.8 (Berryhill).
Cowing also averaged 46.1 yards per catch on passes thrown 20-plus yards. That figure ranked 15th in the country among qualifiers.
Cowing didn’t fare as well as Berryhill on contested catches, corralling them at a 37% clip (10 of 27). Berryhill had a 60% contested-catch rate (9 of 15). Cowing was 5 of 10 on contested passes thrown 20-plus yards.
Best of the rest
Defensive Tiaoalii Savea, who came to Arizona from UCLA, ranked fifth among Pac-12 interior defensive linemen with a stop rate of 11.8% on running plays. Savea played 36 snaps against the run for the Bruins. PFF defines defensive stops as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense.”
Savea’s teammate then and now, defensive back DJ Warnell, was targeted three times last season. One pass was completed. Warnell broke up the other two.
Defensive end Hunter Echols, who transferred from USC, had the fifth-lowest missed tackle rate (4.8%) in the Pac-12 among qualifying edge players. Echols still has work to do as a pass rusher; his pass-rush win rate of 7.4% ranked 34th among conference edge players.
