Something we don't mention enough is the fact Will is the youngest QB to have ever been given the reins in a Leach offense...on top of that every other QB to play meaningful snaps for Leach has at least a full redshirt season while Will is one spring season behind.
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As a redshirt sophomore in Leach's first season at Wazzu, Halliday split some time with Tuel (who had a toothpick for a collarbone). Falk is the only redshirt freshman to start for Leach, but that was only the final three games after Halliday snapped his leg clean in half. Leach's best seasons have come with a 5th year Senior QB with 4 years of reps in his system or Gardner Minshew.
Kingsbury was a redshirt sophomore when Leach took over, so I pulled his second year playing under Leach. Harrell and Falk were both redshirt Sophomores that played in a handful of games as rFR when they took over. The stats below are all comparable to this year for Will in terms of experience starting with Leach - however they are all at least one year older in terms of college experience.
Projecting Will's start out to 11 games (let's throw out Alabama, because I don't expect him to add to many of these stats in two weeks) he is right on par with the other three despite having less overall college experience.
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- Most completions despite less games
- highest completion rate, although I expect that to fall the second half of the season
- about 500 yards less than Harrell and Falk, but also playing less games
- 7 less touchdowns, but again less games played
I have been leaning towards the Will has a noodle arm camp and I believe he is a bit gun-shy after watching KJ throw the ball more to the other team than anyone else. But looking deeper in to the stats, he really is not that far off from a historical production standpoint. As he gets more confident in the intermediate to deep throws - which usually comes with experience - I think he can get to the 7.5 yds/att.
Right now, we just are not converting enough production to points. I think this is the biggest factor of being so young.
TLDR - Will is operating in uncharted territory for a Leach QB and is performing on par. This offense requires high degree of experience that we won't have on a regular basis until 2024. I think that is where we can start to truly judge the validity of the Air Raid in the SEC. Be patient.
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| 2000 | TTU | 7–6 | 3–5 | Kingsbury | R. SO |
| 2001 | TTU | 7–5 | 4–4 | Kingsbury | R. JR |
| 2002 | TTU | 9–5 | 5–3 | Kingsbury | R. SR |
| 2003 | TTU | 8–5 | 4–4 | Symons | R. SR |
| 2004 | TTU | 8–4 | 5–3 | Cumbie | R. SR |
| 2005 | TTU | 9–3 | 6–2 | Hodges | R. SR |
| 2006 | TTU | 8–5 | 4–4 | Harrell | R. SO |
| 2007 | TTU | 9–4 | 4–4 | Harrell | R. JR |
| 2008 | TTU | 11–2 | 7–1 | Harrell | R. SR |
| 2009 | TTU | 8–4 | 5–3 | Potts | R. JR |
| 2012 | WSU | 3–9 | 1–8 | Tuel (SR) / Halliday (R. SO) | |
| 2013 | WSU | 6–7 | 4–5 | Halliday | R. JR |
| 2014 | WSU | 3–9 | 2–7 | Halliday (R. SR) / Falk (R. FR) | |
| 2015 | WSU | 9–4 | 6–3 | Falk | R. SO |
| 2016 | WSU | 8–5 | 7–2 | Falk | R. JR |
| 2017 | WSU | 9–4 | 6–3 | Falk | R. SR |
| 2018 | WSU | 11–2 | 7–2 | Minshew | Transfer - SR |
| 2019 | WSU | 6–7 | 3–6 | Gordon | R. SR |
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As a redshirt sophomore in Leach's first season at Wazzu, Halliday split some time with Tuel (who had a toothpick for a collarbone). Falk is the only redshirt freshman to start for Leach, but that was only the final three games after Halliday snapped his leg clean in half. Leach's best seasons have come with a 5th year Senior QB with 4 years of reps in his system or Gardner Minshew.
Kingsbury was a redshirt sophomore when Leach took over, so I pulled his second year playing under Leach. Harrell and Falk were both redshirt Sophomores that played in a handful of games as rFR when they took over. The stats below are all comparable to this year for Will in terms of experience starting with Leach - however they are all at least one year older in terms of college experience.
Projecting Will's start out to 11 games (let's throw out Alabama, because I don't expect him to add to many of these stats in two weeks) he is right on par with the other three despite having less overall college experience.
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| Class | Games | Comp | Att | Comp% | Yard | Yds/Att | TD | INT | RAT | |
| Kingsbury (2001) | rJR | 11 | 365 | 529 | 69 | 3502 | 6.6 | 25 | 9 | 136.8 |
| Harrell (2007) | rSO | 13 | 412 | 617 | 66.8 | 4555 | 7.4 | 38 | 11 | 145.5 |
| Falk (2015) | rSO | 12 | 447 | 644 | 69.4 | 4561 | 7.1 | 38 | 8 | 145.9 |
| Will (projection) | SO | 11 | 473 | 625 | 75 | 4097 | 6.6 | 31 | 5 | 144.7 |
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- Most completions despite less games
- highest completion rate, although I expect that to fall the second half of the season
- about 500 yards less than Harrell and Falk, but also playing less games
- 7 less touchdowns, but again less games played
I have been leaning towards the Will has a noodle arm camp and I believe he is a bit gun-shy after watching KJ throw the ball more to the other team than anyone else. But looking deeper in to the stats, he really is not that far off from a historical production standpoint. As he gets more confident in the intermediate to deep throws - which usually comes with experience - I think he can get to the 7.5 yds/att.
Right now, we just are not converting enough production to points. I think this is the biggest factor of being so young.
TLDR - Will is operating in uncharted territory for a Leach QB and is performing on par. This offense requires high degree of experience that we won't have on a regular basis until 2024. I think that is where we can start to truly judge the validity of the Air Raid in the SEC. Be patient.
