UCLA Football: Who is the better option, Thompson-Robinson or Speight?
With UCLA football head coach Chip Kelly trying to win now, who is the better option at quarterback, Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Wilton Speight?
The UCLA football team has a problem, but it is a good problem to have. It is a problem they have not had in recent seasons which led to bigger problems. Chip Kelly’s problem is choosing which quarterback to use, Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Wilton Speight.
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Some might say that if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one, but knowing what UCLA has gone through in the last few seasons, that doesn’t apply to the Bruins. During the Brett Hundley era, UCLA did not have a solid backup for him. As much as fans love Jerry Neuheisel, he could not replicate what Hundley could do with his arms or his legs.
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We then saw what can and did go wrong when Josh Rosen was injured. Mike Fafaul tried, but he was no Rosen.
But now UCLA has two QBs they can rely on, which have their own strengths and weaknesses, but who should they go with heading into the Oregon game?
Speight started the season against Cincinnati but was quickly replaced by DTR after sustaining an injury in the second quarter of that game. Since then, the freshman has taken over signal-calling duties, even though Speight was apparently available after his injury (as he was listed as a potential start in each game’s depth chart). The interesting tidbit in all of this is that Speight did not enter the game against California after DTR was taken out in the fourth quarter after orchestrating a beautiful offensive performance which led to UCLA’s 37-7 win. Matt Lynch was put in.
But in the next game, it was Thompson-Robinson who left the game with an injury, prompting Kelly to insert Speight. He put up some good numbers which helped lead UCLA to their second win of the season. Speight then played in the entire game against Utah as DTR was “unavailable”, but reports out of UCLA’s practice this week have indicated that the freshman has regained his full range of motion and looks good to go, but it was also noted that Speight was still working with the first team offense. So if both QBs are healthy, which one should Kelly go with for UCLA’s last four games?
| Comp % | Yds per Att | Total TDs | Total INTs | Rush Yd Avg | |
| DTR | 60.2 (103/171) | 6.9 | 6 | 3 | 1.6 |
| Speight | 57.0 (45/79) | 5.2 | 2 | 3 | 2.7 |
Through 8 games, DTR and Speight have put up similar averages. It is hard to say what they have done on a per game basis as they have had to replace each other in two, but we could break it down to quarters if we want to get really specific.
Rounding for both players, Thompson-Robinson has played in 24 quarters this season and with 1,176 passing yards, he is averaging 49 per quarter. Speight has payed in 8 quarters and with 413 passing yards, he is averaging 51.6. That is still very close, especially when you consider that Chip Kelly tends to throw the ball more when Speight is in and leans on the run when DTR is in.
When it comes to running the ball, as you can see from numbers above, Speight has the advatage in rushing yards per attempt, but if you take out lost yardage (due to sacks, which the Bruins have given up 22 for 135 yards), we see a different picture when looking at positive yardage.
Thompson-Robinson has 70 net yards, but 152 gained. Speight has accumulated 40, for a gain of 68. Per quarter, that gives DTR 6.3 yards gained (not per attempt) and Speight 8.5.Still close, but Speight has been able to put up more yards.
What I take away from these stats is that Thompson-Robinson is slightly better when UCLA needs to throw the ball, but Speight has a better chnace of escaping the pocket and getting yards on the ground. Obviosuly, one should not base their game plan around these results, especially when this does not take into account rushing totals and averages for the other Bruin backs, but it does show what each QB can do.
But what does Chip Kelly want to do? From what we have seen with each QB handling the offense, Kelly usually calls for more passes when Speight is in and more runs with DTR. To use Oregon as an example, the Ducks allow 243.3 passing yards per game and 136.3 rushing yards. One would think to pass against Oregon, who have not lived up to expectations with pass defense. So do you go with Speight who has more overall experience or DTR who has had more success?
Next. Play call/outcome analysis from the Utah game. dark
Though this may be a dilemma, as stated above, this is a good problem for UCLA to have. If one cannot get the job done (or god forbid gets injured), Kelly has the other to go to. It is a tough decision and one that Kelly has most likely pondered over the last week. Come Saturday at 4:30 p.m., we will see what decision he has made.