In his first start, Pyron had a respectable 67.9 QBR from ESPN. It’s a secret formula and who knows what’s in it. Drake May leads the conference at 89.6.
All-in-all, he ended up as the #2 runner on the team, well into positive numbers, despite taking some long sacks. I’m looking forward to the PFF report on the game, because there were a few near-circus catches to bail him out, but there were quite a few drops that hit receivers between the numbers.
Pyron had a good game, but there’s a ton of room to improve. There were a few times he misread the handoff and a few more that he missed the open receiver or threw it to the wrong receiver. He seemed to correct those mistakes in later series, which is a good sign.
Just because Pyron had a good start shouldn’t mean Sims isn’t loaded with potential—remember, Sims upset FSU in his first start as a freshman, too, and that was a more challenging opponent.
FWIW, I did not like Long’s play calls at the 1 yd line. However, that was pretty bad of the punt return team to leave us in that position.