PFF La Tech Bye Week Breakdown

How have the Bulldogs performed on an individual basis? Let's take a look at the Pro Football Focus Player Grade and give you our thoughts on the top 5 players for Tech offensively, defensively, and on special teams.

PFF La Tech Top 5 on Offense

Player	Grade	BTB Take

QB J'Mar Smith	83.3	Smith is now 22-13 as the Bulldogs starting QB, having won 18 of his last 24 starts. QB1 is completing 67% of his throws and is on his way to a career-high in yards and TDs. Smith is 12th nationally in passing yards.
RB Justin Henderson	77.6	Henderson has 654 yards on the ground and 12 TDs. 430 of his 654 yards have come after contact. The big bruiser has been just what the doctor ordered for the Bulldogs at RB in 2019.
WR Malik Stanley	77	Stanley is 2nd on the team with 433 yards receiving and 3 TDs. The big target on the outside has caught 74% of throws that have come his way. It's somewhat under appreciated, but Stanley is Tech's best blocking WR as he has earned an 82.4 PFF grade in the run/short passing game.
WR Cee Jay Powell	76.8	The former walk-on leads Tech with 38 catches for 446 yards and 1 TD. Of his 446 yards, 238 have come after the catch. Powell has become J'Mar's security blanket and has hauled in 75% of targets that have come his way.
C Kody Russey	76.4	The iron man, Mr. Russey. The Bulldogs center has played more snaps than any offensive player at 533 and has allowed only 1 sack and 8 QB pressures. All-Conference performer, my friends.

PFF La Tech Top 5 on Defense

Player	Grade	BTB Take

CB Amik Robertson	85.5	43 tackles. 5 INTs. 12 PBUs. 1 sack. 1 FF. 1 FR. Only 51% of throws that have come his way have been completed. Need I say more?
S Darryl Lewis	79.9	Lewis has been steady in his senior year with 26 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FF. Opposing QBs only have a 46.5 passer rating when targeting the Bulldog safety.
NT Courtney Wallace	79	Most improved player in C-USA? Wallace has been a MAN up front. Wallace has 11 STOPs (constitutes a "failure" for the offense) and has earned an 87.1 run defense grade to lead the team.
CB Michael Sam	75.8	Sam defines consistency. He's earned an 80.4 run defense grade, 90.6 tackling grade and 73.7 coverage grade. He's yet to miss a tackle all season and has 1 INT and 1 PBU.
ILB Connor Taylor	74.8	Rock solid in the middle, Connor Taylor. 8 QB pressures, 21 STOPs, 1 INT and has allowed only 60 yards through the air on 149 coverage snaps.

PFF La Tech Top 5 on Special Teams

Player	Grade	ST Snap Count Total	BTB Take

Trey Baldwin	74.4	52	Baldwin is playing as well on kickoff coverage as any Bulldog. His big hit against USM was one moment that sticks out to Bulldog fans.
Jacob Adams	71.1	66	Adams has 1 tackle on ST but has been the best blocker on the kickoff return team.
Ezekiel Barnett	70.9	98	Barnett leads the Bulldogs with 6 ST tackles.
Alex Zayed	69.4	67	Zayed is 2nd on the team with 4 ST tackles.
Maqualius Turner	68.7	66	The only true freshman to not redshirt in 2019. Turner is a walk-on but has quickly made an impact on the coverage units.

Share with us some of your thoughts on Louisiana Tech's top players through the first 8 games of 2019.

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