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| Sophomore quarterback Carter St. John has thrown 19 touchdowns and just one interception for Alma this season, while being sacked just four times. Alma athletics photo |
By Joe Sager
D3sports.com
The NCAA formula for determining pass efficiency is convoluted.
However, you don’t need to break out a calculator when watching Carter St. John. It’s easy to tell the Alma sophomore quarterback operates with precision.
In fact, St. John leads the nation in passing efficiency at 228.6. He’s completed 85 of 119 passes for 1,504 yards and 19 touchdowns against one interception.
Not bad for a player with 18 college football games under his belt.
“The experience from last year definitely helped,” he said. “I was able to get a lot of experience in big games. That helped me gain a lot of confidence. The quarterback room definitely helped me get a lot more comfortable with where I am now, too.”
St. John’s results are even more impressive when you consider the Scots’ hurry-up style of offense.
“In a perfect world, we’re snapping the ball between 10-12 seconds after a tackle. That’s moving very fast,” Alma coach Jason Couch said. “We don’t win a ton of time of possession, that’s for sure.”
That pace doesn’t leave a lot of time for a quarterback to think. Yet, grasping the college game in a quick offense hasn’t been too much a challenge for St. John. As a freshman, he claimed the starting quarterback job and helped guide the Scots to an 11-1 mark and the second round of the NCAA playoffs. He was named to the D3football.com All-Region team for Region 4.
“Coming in as a freshman, I was fortunate to get an opportunity to get that many snaps,” he said. “My high school coach was able to prepare me well and I had all of camp to adjust. I talked to our quarterbacks coach throughout the summer and was able to get as much of the playbook as I could. When the time came to play an actual game, I was able to play and have confidence in what I was doing. It was a little scary, coming in as a freshman and a young kid. It was definitely nice getting that experience a chance to be able to be successful with what we did last year.”
St. John has simply built off last year’s foundation when he completed 180 of 284 attempts for 2,593 yards and 27 scores. He was intercepted nine times.
“Instead of just coming in and learning the offense, this year we have been able to add some new wrinkles in the offense,” he said. “I’ve been about to be in the film room more and my quarterbacks coach, Coach (Jason) Riepma, we’re throwing ideas off each other. It’s not just me knowing what I am supposed to do, but I am able to see what the defense is supposed to do. So, just being able to work with Coach Riepma a lot more and bounce more ideas back and forth has me a lot more comfortable.
“But, it’s not just me. We’re growing together as an offense. If you look around the entire offense, we’re still young in every position. It’s been great to see the progress we’ve made.”
Couch credits St. John’s behind-the-scenes work for the signal caller’s positive strides.
“We’re fortunate. He was also a Presidential Scholarship guy, so he’s taking care of it in the classroom and I think that helps a lot. That doesn’t always correlate, but he has been doing them both very well,” he said. “He spends a lot of time down here studying and making sure he is prepared on Saturdays. People outside of football maybe don’t understand how much goes into the preparation piece for Saturdays, but he is dedicated to making sure he’s ready to go.”
The results have there. He had a career-best performance in a 48-28 win over Wittenberg. He completed 22 of 25 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once.
“He had two incompletions and those were throwaways to avoid a sack. The next week, he was 12 for 13,” Couch said. “Our receiving corps really helps with that efficiency. I have seen Carter take the time to work one-on-one with receivers and tight ends, so they are on the same page. I am sometimes right behind him in practice and there are a few times he lets the ball rip in anticipation of where a receiver is going to be and it’s executed perfectly.
“Also, the competition he has is second to none. We have a very good defense. When we’re going against each other — first team on first team — it’s really fun to see. Our defense still leads the country in turnovers gained (26). If they are able to get one on Carter, they let him know it. When he puts one in the end zone, he gives it right back. That fun rivalry raises that level of competition.”
A smaller quarterback at 5-9, 190, St. John knows he needs to outwit defenses instead of outgunning them.
“I am not the tallest or most athletic guy anywhere. To be able to be a good quarterback, I have to put the ball where it needs to be,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in doing that. It helps when there are a lot of weapons around me and a strong offensive line. The running backs are certainly helping in pass protection and running their butts off. If team loads up to stop them, it makes it a lot easier to take one-on-one shots in the air.”
Sophomore Eddie Williams (354 yards) and freshman Jordan Williams (241) is right behind. Both backs are receiving threats as well. Senior Devon Frenchko (17 catches, 588 yards) leads the receivers, while freshman Zach Poff (15-239), senior Gage Krueger (11-186), senior tight end Nate Webb (9-123) and senior Cole Thomas (1-122) are all frequent targets.
“Coming into the season, there was some question with how we’d be after graduating four seniors on the offensive line,” Couch said. “It was Week 4 before we allowed our first sack and I think we may have allowed three total on the year.”
St. John and the Scots (6-0) want to keep it going. They understand there’s little margin of error to get back into the postseason and have the chance to make another run.
“A lot of guys returned from last year and more guys got even more comfortable after going through those playoff games,” St. John said. “Those games aren’t really pressure if you’re having fun. Football is a fun game. Instead of taking it so seriously, we just want to go out and play football and have fun.
“We’re super happy with where we are right now. But, the season is not over. The most important game is the next one. We’re just keeping that mentality, no matter what. We have to keep our heads down and keep working. If we don’t win the next one, then there are no playoffs for us.”
