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College Football

Wisconsin’s Alex Hornibrook has quietly become one of the nation’s best quarterbacks

Garrett Kroeger

By Garrett Kroeger

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When thinking of the best quarterbacks in the nation, we as college football fans think of the ‘home run throwers’ like Penn State’s Trace McSorely or the ‘can defeat you in any aspect of the game’ like Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. We don’t usually look at the game managers, the Ken Stabler-ish type of signal callers like Wisconsin’s Alex Hornibrook.

Now, Hornibrook is not Ken Stabler. However, the sophomore has quietly become one of the nation’s top quarterbacks.

Yes, the man who threw two-forced interceptions and almost derailed the Badgers’ perfect season against the Northwestern Wildcats last Saturday is one of the country’s best gunslingers. The statistics can prove it.

Hornibrook’s numbers, in terms of passing yards (898), may not be video game statistics like Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph and Washington State’s Luke Falk. However, his numbers in the categories that mean the most are impressive.

Quarterbacks are judged by the rate of turnovers they produce. The less, the better. And Hornibrook is among the best in that category.

On the season, Hornibrook has a 66.7 percent completion rate. That is second in the B1G right behind Purdue’s David Blough, who possesses a 70 completion percentage. But it is Hornibrook’s passing efficiency that makes him standout.

Currently, Hornibrook is fifth in the nation in passing efficiency at 176.8. That is eight spots ahead of Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett (165.6) and 20 places above McSorely (156.4) Both, Barrett and McSorely are considered the cream of the crop of signal callers in the B1G.

Not only has Hornibrook been efficient in general, he has also made Wisconsin’s offense into one of the most efficient units in the nation.

Entering Week 6, the Badgers come in at seventh in all of college football in third-down conversion rate at 51 percent. Highlighted by a remarkable offensive performance at BYU on Sept. 16, where Wisconsin totaled nearly 500 yards of offense and converted 8 of its 12 third downs, the Badgers’ excellence in moving the chains when it matters most could be the major reason behind ranking 35h in total offense.

Hornibrook deserves plenty of credit for Wisconsin’s elite performance on third down. Through four games, the signal caller has completed 20-of-32 passes (62.5 percent) for 335 yards, five touchdowns and a lone interception on third downs.

“He’s been seeing things the right way and making good decisions and then trusting that,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said to Land of 10. “I think that last part is really important for every player ― that you know what to do, you know how to do it. Now you’ve got to trust yourself. If that’s the case, more often than not you give yourself a chance to be successful.”

While his efficiency is top-notch, some may argue that Hornibrook doesn’t have the arm strength to be considered one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.

Arm strength is undoubtedly on of the most important traits in a signal caller. But to say Hornibrook lacks arm strength is false. Throughout his time as a starter, the young gunslinger has shown he can fire a fastball into coverage and air a ball out downfield for a big gain.

What really matters is practicing technique, timing and accuracy, as well as reading defenses and understanding coverages. In those areas, Hornibrook excels. If he needs to make a deep throw but doesn’t think he can put enough juice on the ball, he simply lets the pass go earlier and it arrives at the same time.

The talk of the town, concerning Wisconsin’s offense, has been freshman running back Jonathan Taylor. On the year, Taylor has ran for 518 yards and seven touchdowns. However, it is time to finally give Hornibrook his due. He has truly become one of the nation’s best quarterbacks.

Garrett Kroeger