Football: Windsor's hot rookie

I just put together the QB passing rankings through Week 6 (see past rankings for an explanation) and Windsor's freshman quarterback Sam Malian is, unexpectedly, #1 so far this year.

Malian, with 9.0 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, just noses out Laurence Nixon and Josh Sacobie, both at 8.8, and Benoît Groulx, at 8.5. This does not account for their rushing skills or quality of competition faced, but it's still surprising to see a rookie quarterback (who plays for an unranked team) sitting near the top of the country.

It's even more remarkable given that Malian has been sacked 10 times for 71 yards lost--those other three QBs mentioned have been sacked for 86 yards combined--and his completion percentage is just 61%. Malian has overcome those issues by throwing just one interception in five games and averaging 10 pass yards per attempt, the third-highest average in the league behind Nixon and Sacobie.

Malian seems like a solid candidate for rookie of the year. It's just another reason to keep an eye on the Lancers, who are a team that nobody picked to finish in the top half of the OUA yet are currently 3-2 after their upset win against Ottawa.

The top 10 quarterbacks so far in 2008 (adjusted net yards per pass attempt):
9.0, Sam Malian - Windsor
8.8, Laurence Nixon - Saskatchewan
8.8, Joshua Sacobie - Ottawa
8.5, Benoît Groulx - Laval
7.7, David Hamilton - Toronto
7.7, Jean-Philippe Shoiry - Sherbrooke
7.5, Justin Dunk - Guelph
7.0, Dan Brannagan - Queen's
6.7, Michael Faulds - Western
6.1, Jesse Andrews - Bishop's
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