C.J Brown Was Nuts Down The Stretch For MD

Maryland’s finally got a good quarterback situation on their hands. For the first time in six years, Maryland will start the same QB that they started and played the majority of games with the season prior. The Terps have started nine different quarterbacks over the past 11 seasons, which isn’t really the continuity most programs are looking for.

2003: Scott McBrien

2004: Joel Statham

2005: Sam Hollenbach

2006: Sam Hollenbach

2007: Jordan Steffy

2008: Jordan Steffy (less than one game)

2009: Chris Turner

2010: Jamarr Robinson

2011: Danny O’Brien

2012: Perry Hills

2013: C.J. Brown

2014: C.J. Brown

To (hopefully) have C.J. Brown healthy from day one in the same offense that he’s been in since 2009 is huge for the team. It’s no coincidence that Maryland has been pretty bad in general during their revolving door QB situation, so I’m thinking this may be a sign that good things are coming. The QB position is so important nowadays, so relied upon, that I think Maryland should really see the results of stability bear fruit.

As I looked over C.J. Brown’s individual accolades this offseason, I came across some pretty staggering numbers relating to his final five games of 2013. Brown actually accounted for 60% or more of Maryland’s offense in every single one of those games, but even better than that, he managed to accrue 70% or more of Maryland’s total yardage as a team in four of those five games down the stretch.

Maryland beat N.C. State 41-21 in the last game of the regular season, but we should really be saying C.J. Brown did it; he accounted for 92% of the team’s offense (5 total TDs, 259 yards passing and 138 yards rushing). Brown has a propensity to obliterate weaker opponents, and Team Yow was no different.

But Brown also did it against Virginia Tech, too. We all obviously remember the Virginia Tech overtime road win where Brown accounted for 86% (!) of Maryland’s total offense. 135 yards passing and 122 yards rushing plus those three touchdowns. The Virginia Tech game was obviously more impressive considering the defense he did it against, but they both stood out as performances by a player who no one would be stopping.

Brown’s % of Maryland’s Offense Per Game in 2013:

FIU: 67% (49% passing, 18% rushing)

ODU: 52% (47% passing, 5% rushing)

UCONN: 79% (55% passing, 24% rushing)

WVU: 74% (66% passing, 8% rushing)

FSU: 36% (35% passing, 1% rushing)

WF: 27% (36% passing, -9% rushing)

CUSE: 74% (72% passing, 2% rushing)

VT: 86% (48% passing, 38% rushing)

BC: 72% (64% passing, 8% rushing)

NCST: 92% (60% passing, 32% rushing)

MRSH: 60% (50% passsing, 10% rushing)

Total AVG: 64.5%

Total AVG (excluding FSU and WF): 72.8%

I excluded the two games against Florida State and Wake for obvious reasons, because Brown didn’t get through either of them because of either injury or the obvious lingering effects from injury. What’s funny is that we can glean how much worse the team is without Brown when we see that even after he exited, the total percentage of from the QB positiin almost stagnated in those two games.

But 72.8% is just too much for a QB Brown’s size. Tim Tebow during his 2007 Heisman campaign was below that number, and the same goes for Braxton Miller at Ohio State last year. Maryland needs somebody to step up and be that second piece to the puzzle. The most apparent hope/solution is that both Diggs and Brown are finally healthy, ready to rock at the same time, and the two players serve as pressure release valves for one another. Again, that’s if they’re 100%.

All that said, C.J. Brown at max capacity in both health and performance is a sight to behold, these numbers just back it up.