Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?
Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.
Read Article →Liberty Flames Quarterbacks and Receivers
Conference USA. Starting quarterbacks by year: 2026: Deshawn Purdie; 2025: Ethan Vasko, Michael Merdinger; 2024: Kaidon Salter; 2023: Kaidon Salter.
Liberty Starting Quarterbacks and Receivers by Season
| Season | Quarterbacks (starts) | Top receivers (targets) | Pass Yds | TD-INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Deshawn Purdie (5) | Makai Jackson 27, Jamari Person 15, Darius Copeland 15 | 1,043 | 10-0 |
| 2025 | Ethan Vasko (10), Michael Merdinger (2) | Donte Lee Jr. 52, Jamari Person 46, Reese Smith 32 | 2,300 | 11-13 |
| 2024 | Kaidon Salter (11) | Tyson Mobley 30, Elijah Canion 27, Treon Sibley 26 | 1,884 | 15-4 |
| 2023 | Kaidon Salter (13) | CJ Daniels 48, Treon Sibley 25, Aaron Bedgood 20 | 2,667 | 31-5 |
| 2022 | Johnathan Bennett (7), Kaidon Salter (3), Charlie Brewer (2) | Demario Douglas 75, Noah Frith 24, Caleb Snead 22 | 2,578 | 19-15 |
| 2021 | Malik Willis (12) | Demario Douglas 60, CJ Daniels 49, Kevin Shaa 40 | 3,016 | 30-15 |
| 2020 | Malik Willis (9), Chris Ferguson (1) | DJ Stubbs 39, Demario Douglas 34, Kevin Shaa 32 | 2,336 | 24-5 |
| 2019 | Stephen Calvert (12) | Antonio Gandy-Golden 130, DJ Stubbs 49, Kevin Shaa 37 | 3,496 | 27-6 |
| 2018 | Stephen Calvert (12) | Antonio Gandy-Golden 124, DJ Stubbs 85, B.J. Farrow 81 | 3,076 | 21-18 |
College starts are inferred: the team's first passer in each game.
2026 Liberty Target Tree
| Player | Pos | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makai Jackson | WR | 27 | 19 | 469 | 5 |
| Jamari Person | WR | 15 | 11 | 154 | 2 |
| Darius Copeland | WR | 15 | 8 | 125 | 1 |
| Zeke Wimbush | TE | 8 | 7 | 88 | 0 |
| Bryce Randolph | WR | 8 | 5 | 61 | 0 |
| Jaylon Coleman | RB | 8 | 5 | 45 | 0 |
| LaKelsey Johnson Jr. | TE | 7 | 3 | 52 | 0 |
| Kam Davis | RB | 5 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| Peyton Jones | RB | 5 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Rashawn Cunningham | WR | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jon Monteiro | WR | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caleb Ryan | TE | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
2026 Liberty Games
| Week | Opponent | Result | Quarterback | Cmp-Att | Yds | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | at JMU | L 13-20 | Deshawn Purdie | 17-27 | 230 | 1 | 0 |
| Week 2 | vs gardner webb | W 24-23 | Deshawn Purdie | 8-21 | 186 | 2 | 0 |
| Week 3 | vs BALL | W 51-15 | Deshawn Purdie | 16-24 | 248 | 4 | 0 |
| Week 4 | at CCU | W 34-17 | Deshawn Purdie | 12-18 | 222 | 3 | 0 |
| Week 5 | at DEL | W 30-14 | Deshawn Purdie | 13-25 | 157 | 0 | 0 |
2026 Liberty Connections
| QB → Receiver | Tgt | Cmp | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deshawn Purdie → Makai Jackson | 25 | 18 | 461 | 5 |
| Deshawn Purdie → Jamari Person | 15 | 11 | 154 | 2 |
| Deshawn Purdie → Darius Copeland | 13 | 6 | 63 | 0 |
| Deshawn Purdie → Zeke Wimbush | 8 | 7 | 88 | 0 |
| Deshawn Purdie → Bryce Randolph | 7 | 4 | 51 | 0 |
| Deshawn Purdie → Jaylon Coleman | 7 | 5 | 45 | 0 |
| Deshawn Purdie → LaKelsey Johnson Jr. | 5 | 3 | 52 | 0 |
| Deshawn Purdie → Peyton Jones | 5 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET
All Posts →Understanding the Throw.
What the box score cannot tell you about the people behind the pass.
What CPOE Means, and How ACE Builds on It
Completion percentage over expected gives credit for difficult completions. Here is how ACE measures it.
Read Article →Why Sacks Belong Partly to the Quarterback
A sack is the rush, the line and the decision. Why our dropback stats count them.
Read Article →FROM THE A-GAME PODCAST
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