Brett Hundley posted strong stats but was sacked more often than any other FBS player. Few quarterbacks can match Brett Hundley’s statistical accomplishments over the past three seasons. He accumulated the fourth-most yards of total offense in that time and helped UCLA reach a bowl game all three seasons.
He also ranked fourth in the FBS in that three-year period by being responsible for 106 touchdowns (75 passing, 30 rushing, one receiving). Hundley clearly was one of the best two-dimensional quarterbacks in the FBS from 2012 to 2014.
"Monday Night Football" analyst Jon Gruden will meet with Hundley and four other quarterbacks during the sixth year of the TV show “Gruden’s QB Camp.” The season debut will be Tuesday, April 7 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. To prepare you for the show, we break down Hundley’s greatest strength, his main area of improvement in his final season, and a cause for concern.
Greatest strength: Scrambling
Hundley consistently beat defenses for big gains by scrambling, especially on third down. In his three seasons, he scrambled for 510 yards and had 18 scrambles of at least 10 yards on third down, trailing only Johnny Manziel in those stats in that time frame (Manziel played two of those seasons, 2012 and 2013).
Brett Hundley scrambling since 2012
Hundley started all 40 of UCLA’s games since the start of the 2012 season, tied for second-most among FBS quarterbacks. Only Oregon’s Marcus Mariota started more games in that time frame (41).
Biggest improvement: Decision-making
As measured by interceptions and third-down accuracy, Hundley improved his decision-making in 2014. He threw one third-down interception last season compared with five in 2013 and in 2012. His interception percentage (interceptions per pass) last year was 1.1 percent, compared with 5.2 percent in 2013 and 3.8 percent in 2012.
Hundley improved his third-down completion percentage 8.3 percentage points compared with his first two seasons, to 65.9 percent, tying Mariota for third-best in the Power 5. Only Cody Kessler and Blake Sims completed a higher percentage of third-down attempts.
Brett Hundley third-down passing
In the red zone, Hundley completed 72.7 percent of his third-down passes, an improvement of more than 8 percentage points from the year before. In fact, Hundley improved by 22.7 percentage points in 2014 on such attempts compared with his freshman season (72.7 percent, up from 50.0 percent as a freshman).
Cause for concern: Sacks and inaccuracy on the deep ball
Hundley struggled on passes thrown 15 yards or more downfield last season. His completion percentage has declined each of the past two years on such throws, dropping more than 12 percentage points from his freshman season in 2012 to a career-low of 32.9 percent last season.
Hundley had issues getting the ball out of his hand throughout his career at UCLA. He was sacked 125 times in his career, 26 more times than any other FBS quarterback during this time. Hundley was sacked 75 times when he faced standard pressure of four rushers or fewer, which led Power 5 quarterbacks since the start of 2012.
"Gruden's QB Camp": 7 p.m. ET, Tuesday, April 7, ESPN2