Dru DeShields

#12 · QB · R-Jr. · Kent State6′2″ · 195 lb · Beloit, OH · West Branch

ZPR24110th of 119 QBs Last gameL 10–31at Sacramento State · Oct 30

Nextat Bowling GreenTue Nov 10 · 7 pm ET

via kentstatesports.com ↗

Kent State is 3-6 in the nine games played. A mobile passer.

Weakest: completes 57% of throws by play-by-play, 28th lowest of 158 starters.

Plays most like Angeli, Syracuse.

Passing yards

1,624

140 of 251, 56%

TD–INT

9–7

6.5 per throw

NCAA rating

116.4

110th of 119

ZPR

110th of 119

How ZPR works

Shaky or worse in 6 of 9 graded games.

Best by our grade: Akron. Lowest: at Sacramento State, with 1 interception and sacked 2 times. Biggest game: at Ohio State, No. 6. Best play: Completion for 55 yards, touchdown, against Akron, Q3 6:27. Win chance 31% to 59%.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

at South Carolina

L 0–57·Unranked

Rough

63 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · Rush 3 for 27 · Sacked 1

None of the quarterback’s own plays moved the team's chance of winning by more than a few points.

Full game page

Wofford

W 36–15·FCS

Solid

Slow start, strong finish · 248 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT · Rush 10 for 74, 2 TD · Interceptions cost about 19 points of win chance · Sacked 0

Biggest swing: a Q3 completion added 13 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 45% to 58%.

Full game page

at Ohio State

L 3–59·Ranked #6

Rough

35 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT · Rush 2 for 6 · Sacked 0

None of the quarterback’s own plays moved the team's chance of winning by more than a few points.

Full game page

Ball State

W 26–13·Unranked

Shaky

Passing grade only · 189 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 13 for 76, 1 TD · Sacked 0

Biggest swing: a Q2 incompletion cost the team 19 points of win chance. Win chance: 94% to 75%.

Full game page

Ohio

L 10–13·Unranked

Shaky

217 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT · Rush 11 for 0 · Interceptions cost about 13 points of win chance · Sacked 3

Biggest swing: a Q3 interception cost the team 13 points of win chance. Win chance: 33% to 20%.

Full game page

at Western Michigan

L 7–38·Unranked

Solid

Steady all game · 223 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT · Rush 10 for -6 · The interception cost about 8 points of win chance · Sacked 4

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 13 points of win chance. Win chance: 18% to 31%.

Full game page

at South Florida

L 2–29·Unranked

Shaky

165 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · Rush 9 for 12 · Lost a fumble · Sacked 1

Biggest swing: a Q2 run cost the team 29 points of win chance. It flipped the game against the team: 58% to 29%.

Full game page

Akron

W 35–20·Unranked

Solid

294 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT · Rush 8 for 28, 1 TD · Sacked 0

Biggest swing: a Q3 completion added 33 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 27% to 60%.

Full game page

at Sacramento State

L 10–31·Unranked

Fans talked about this game

Rough

190 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT · Rush 10 for 43 · The interception cost about 12 points of win chance · Lost 2 fumbles · Sacked 2

I'll probably see you guys on the 10th vs bowling green and ill still be a Dru DeShields defender. have a nice night
Kent State fan

Biggest swing: a Q1 completion added 15 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 47% to 62%.

Full game page

Season

Gets better after halftime

How to read this

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for the quarterback, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game; on games with a lot of running it grades the passing only. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. Dashed outlines on the Season row are last season’s average. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of the quarterback’s plays, up helped the team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as the season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

Style of play

Mobile passer

Why this word

Runs5.7 a gameRarelyA lot

Throws9.5 yards past the lineShortDeep

Completes57% by play-by-playFewerMore

Takes sacks5% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is this quarterback, among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws at a middling depth and runs some. 5.7 carries a game. Closest matches: Angeli, Barnett ’25, Colandrea, Jackson.

Where the throws go

Behind the line13%typical 17%

Short49%typical 47%

Middle22%typical 22%

Deep16%typical 14%

Runs 5.7 times a game; 66% of starters run less.

Closest in style

Nearer the middle means more alike.

Angeli Syracuse · Balanced
1,186 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT so far. Both miss more and score less.
Barnett ’25 James Madison 2025 · Mobile passer
2,806 yards, 23 TD, 8 INT. Both miss more and score less.
Colandrea Nebraska · Dual-threat
1,824 yards, 15 TD, 7 INT so far. Both miss more.
Jackson Arkansas · Mobile passer
1,673 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT so far. Both score less and are less efficient.

Compared with the 158 FBS starters this season for throws and running, and with 219 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

RecordKent State is 3-6.
Last gameOct. 30 · a loss to Sacramento State, 190 passing yards.
From the game thread
“I'll probably see you guys on the 10th vs bowling green and ill still be a Dru DeShields defender. have a nice night”
Kent State fan, r/CFB game thread · at Sacramento State, Oct 30
Next gameat Bowling Green · Tue Nov 10

What’s being said

5 stories in the last 30 days, from 6 outlets.

Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

Dru DeShields throws 4 TDs passes, runs for another score; Kent State beats Akron 35-20

Daily Jefferson County Union +1 Oct 24

All 16 stories this season

Worth knowing

Dru DeShields has 140 completions, already past last season's 136.

His most important play this season

Q1, 7:25 · Kent State tiedDru Deshields finds Wayne Harris for a 92-yard touchdownKent State at Sacramento State, week 9Q1, 7:25 · Kent State 7, Sacramento State 09292-yard touchdown pass9292-yard touchdown pass92-yard touchdown passD.DeShields pass complete deep right to W.Harris caught at Kent50, for 92 yards to the SAC00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this play

All 2 of his plays on video

Dru DeShields

QB · Kent State · #12

Second year in the Kent State quarterback room. The first career honor came in 2025: MAC Offensive Player of the Week. One game to point at: 294 passing yards and 28 rushing yards against Akron — Week 8, 2026.

1,624 passing yards · 9 passing TD · 260 rushing yards

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2026	Kent State	140	251	55.8%	1,624	6.5	9	7	116.4	24
2025	Kent State	136	240	56.7%	2,030	8.5	18	3	150.0	60
Career		276	491	56.2%	3,654	7.4	27	10	132.8	41

Season	Team
2026	Kent State	76	260	3.4	4	26
2025	Kent State	61	38	0.6	3	15
Career		137	298	2.2	7	26

Last game (Wk 9): 190 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 1 interception.

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	Grade	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	SK	RUSH	Note
Wk 1	L 0-57@ South Carolina	Rough	12/20	63	0	0	3.2	—	1	27
Wk 2	W 36-15vs Wofford	Solid	16/25	248	1	2	9.9	67.4	0	74
Wk 3	L 3-59@ No. 6 Ohio State	Rough	6/15	35	0	1	2.3	33.1	0	6
Wk 4	W 26-13vs Ball State	Shaky	16/25	189	2	0	7.6	74.1	0	76
Wk 5	L 10-13vs Ohio	Shaky	20/35	217	0	2	6.2	23.1	3	0
Wk 6	L 7-38@ Western Michigan	Solid	19/35	223	1	1	6.4	36.1	4	-6
Wk 7	L 2-29@ South Florida	Shaky	17/30	165	0	0	5.5	27.1	1	12
Wk 8	W 35-20vs Akron	Solid	18/33	294	4	0	8.9	76.6	0	28	Season-high 294 yds
Wk 9	L 10-31@ Sacramento State	Rough	16/33	190	1	1	5.8	6.5	2	43
Total			140/251	1624	9	7	6.5	—	11	260

The latest game

Oct. 30 · L 10-31 at Sacramento State

16 of 33 for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

His season, game by game

The season, game by game

L 10-31 at Sacramento StateOct. 30190 yds16 of 33, 1 TD, 1 INTPlay by play just above

W 35-20 vs AkronOct. 24294 yds18 of 33, 4 TD

Play by playOn the field

18 of 33 for 294 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was 4 of 12 on third and fourth down.

5 of 9 of his drives scored
4 of 12 on 3rd and 4th down
8 runs for 28 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Punt1 of 4, 9 yds12
Downs5 of 9, 42 yds3
Second quarterbegan down 7-0
Missed FG1 of 4, 41 yds
TD4 of 5, 58 yds
Third quarterbegan tied 7-7
TD2 of 3, 60 yds4
TD3 of 4, 60 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 21-17
Punt1 of 2, 5 yds
TD1 of 2, 19 yds
TD—
FinalW 35-20

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
9-yard completion to Wayne Harris on 3rd and 7. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
2
1-yard run on 3rd and 9. First quarter, tied 0-0.
3
1-yard completion to Ardell Banks on 4th and 3. Second quarter, down 7-0. Turnover on downs.
4
55-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Harris. Third quarter, made it 14-14.

1020304050524155

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

7 more games, with the play by play

L 2-29 at South FloridaOct. 17165 yds17 of 30Box score only

17 of 30 for 165 yards.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

L 7-38 at Western MichiganOct. 10223 yds19 of 35, 1 TD, 1 INT

Play by playOn the field

19 of 35 for 223 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Kent State’s last drive ended with his pass intercepted, down 38-7. Two drives ended on his fourth-down plays: a run that came up short and an incompletion.

1 of 10 of his drives scored
5 of 14 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked 5 times
5 runs for 31 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Missed FG5 of 6, 37 yds1
Second quarterbegan down 7-0
Downs3 of 5, 43 yds23
Punt1 of 2, 22 yds
TD2 of 3, 31 yds
Half2 of 2, 13 yds
Third quarterbegan down 21-7
Punt1 of 2, 11 yds
Punt1 of 1, 7 yds
Punt2 of 4, 19 yds
Fourth quarterbegan down 24-7
Downs2 of 7, 40 yds
Int0 of 3, 0 yds4
FinalL 7-38

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
11-yard completion to Wayne Harris on 3rd and 1. First quarter, down 7-0. Converted.
2
30-yard completion to Wayne Harris. Second quarter, down 14-0.
3
4-yard run on 4th and 19. Second quarter, down 14-0. Turnover on downs.
4
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, down 38-7. Picked off by Western Michigan’s Gabe Welch.

102030405030

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

L 10-13 vs OhioOct. 3217 yds20 of 35, 2 INTBox score only

20 of 35 for 217 yards and 2 interceptions.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

W 26-13 vs Ball StateSept. 26189 yds16 of 25, 2 TDBox score only

16 of 25 for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

L 3-59 at Ohio StateSept. 1935 yds6 of 15, 1 INT

Play by playOn the field

6 of 15 for 35 yards and an interception. He was 2 of 6 on third and fourth down.

0 of 6 of his drives scored
2 of 6 on 3rd and 4th down
2 runs for 6 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Punt1 of 1, 1 yds
Downs2 of 3, 17 yds
Punt0 of 2, 0 yds
Second quarterbegan down 21-0
Int1 of 3, 3 yds1
Punt2 of 4, 14 yds2
Downs0 of 2, 0 yds3
FinalL 3-59

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
Intercepted on 3rd and 12. Second quarter, down 28-0. Picked off by Ohio State’s Riley Pettijohn.
2
14-yard completion to Da'Realyst Clark on 3rd and 10. Second quarter, down 28-0. Converted.
3
Incomplete to Wayne Harris on 4th and 4. Second quarter, down 28-0. Turnover on downs. Broken up by Ohio State’s J. Mathews Jr..

1020304050

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 36-15 vs WoffordSept. 12248 yds16 of 25, 1 TD, 2 INT

Play by playOn the field

16 of 25 for 248 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions. He was 6 of 12 on third and fourth down.

4 of 9 of his drives scored
6 of 12 on 3rd and 4th down
9 runs for 54 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD3 of 4, 52 yds
Downs3 of 4, 30 yds1
Second quarterbegan up 7-3
Int0 of 1, 0 yds2
Punt2 of 5, 14 yds
Safety0 of 2, 0 yds
Third quarterbegan down 15-14
Int0 of 1, 0 yds3
TD3 of 3, 71 yds4
Fourth quarterbegan down 15-14
TD2 of 2, 39 yds
TD3 of 3, 42 yds
FinalW 36-15

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
Incomplete to Ardell Banks on 4th and 4. Second quarter, up 7-3. Turnover on downs. Broken up by Wofford’s C. Walker.
2
Intercepted on 3rd and 1. Second quarter, up 7-3. Picked off by Wofford’s Wyatt Ward.
3
Intercepted on 3rd and 7. Third quarter, down 15-14. Picked off by Wofford’s Javario Tinch.
4
58-yard completion to Wayne Harris on 3rd and 7. Third quarter, down 15-14. Converted.

102030405030405833

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

L 0-57 at South CarolinaSept. 563 yds12 of 20Box score only

Highs and lows

Only games with 20 or more plays count for best and lowest.
Best by our grade	Akron	W 35-20 · Graded solid · 294 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT · Rush 8 for 28, 1 TD · Sacked 0
Lowest by our grade	at Sacramento State	L 10-31 · Graded rough · 190 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT · Rush 10 for 43 · The interception cost about 12 points of win chance · Lost 2 fumbles · Sacked 2
Biggest game	at Ohio State	No. 6 at kickoff · L 3-59 · Graded rough · 35 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT · Rush 2 for 6 · Sacked 0
Best play	Akron	Completion for 55 yards, touchdown, Q3 6:27 · Win chance 31% to 59%

Where he ranks

Tied for 1st among Mid-American quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns. 2nd among Mid-American quarterbacks in rushing yards.

Stat	His	Nation	Mid-American
Passing yards	1,624	62nd of 370	3rd of 34
Yards an attempt	6.5	T-125th of 152	8th of 14
Touchdown passes	9	T-79th of 370	T-5th of 34
Passer rating	116.4	T-137th of 152	11th of 14
Completion percentage	55.8	T-134th of 152	12th of 14
Rushing yards	260	40th of 370	2nd of 34
Rushing touchdowns	4	T-38th of 370	T-1st of 34

Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game.

All Mid-American quarterbacks

Rk	Quarterback	Yards	TD	INT	Att	Y/A
1	John Alan Richter	2,244	17	2	259	8.7
2	Noah Kim	1,678	11	4	285	5.9
3	Dru DeShields	1,624	9	7	251	6.5
4	Jay Kastantin	1,567	11	8	225	7.0
5	Broc Lowry	1,397	11	3	194	7.2
6	Jason Wright	1,345	9	6	231	5.8
7	Brayden Roggow	1,343	7	10	192	7.0
8	Keldric Luster	1,300	9	6	211	6.2
9	David McComb	1,120	7	1	103	10.9
10	William Watson III	1,025	8	2	138	7.4
11	Nick Poulos	966	7	0	117	8.3
12	Caleb Heavner	769	4	4	125	6.2
13	Cibastian Broughton	612	4	1	100	6.1
14	Angel H Flores	475	2	2	92	5.2
15	Jadyn Glasser	463	2	3	74	6.3
16	Logan Inagawa	296	1	1	37	8.0
17	Tyler Mizzell	260	1	0	38	6.8
18	Elijah Holmes	253	3	0	61	4.1
19	Carson Conklin	222	0	1	46	4.8
20	Brogan McCaughey	215	1	1	43	5.0
21	Levi Davis	203	2	0	27	7.5
22	Aedan McCarthy	182	0	0	33	5.5
23	Brian Salazar	99	1	0	10	9.9
24	Trey Petty	59	1	0	8	7.4
25	Marcus Beamon	40	0	0	8	5.0
26	Walter Moses	40	1	0	1	40.0
27	Jace Stuckey	24	0	0	5	4.8
28	Nolan Good	24	0	2	14	1.7
29	Khamoni Robinson	21	0	1	6	3.5
30	Austin Novosad	20	0	0	7	2.9
31	Ethan Thanthanavong	16	0	0	2	8.0
32	Mason Atkins	10	0	0	1	10.0
33	Semaj Beals	0	0	0	1	0.0
34	Deante Ruffin	-1	0	0	3	-0.3

Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.

Passing yards1,6243rd in the Mid-American this season.

Touchdown passes9tied for 5th in the Mid-American this season.

Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.

Opponents faced, by strength

Ratings of the games shown run from -29 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).

Pass targets

Harris and Clark saw 100 of the 251 charted throws.

Receiver	Targets	Catches	Yards	Throw depth	After catch
Wayne Harris	65	39	632	9.9	7.8
Da'Realyst Clark	35	23	269	12.6	2.8
Brendyn Smith	31	11	156	16.0	2.6
Ardell Banks	24	12	224	15.7	5.6
Brandon White	21	14	98	-0.4	8.4
10 others	65	41	245	4.4	3.6
No receiver charted	10	All seven interceptions are among these

Play by play: 251 passes, 140 caught, 1,624 yards. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.

Passing profile

Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)

Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from

140/251 (55.8%) · 9 TD · 7 INT

251 of 251 attempts matched to play-by-play

251 of 251 attempts charted for true throw depth

Adjusted ANY/A

5.31141 of 185 QBs

Sack rate

4.9%82 of 185 QBs

Rarely sacked (82 of 185), but Adjusted ANY/A hasn't followed (141 of 185).

Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

14% of attempts (35)

83%comp

Air -3.4 · YAC 8.5 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

49% of attempts (123)

64%comp3 INT

Air 4.6 · YAC 4.3 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

21% of attempts (53)

30%comp4 INT

Air 13.5 · YAC 1.8 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

16% of attempts (40)

40%comp

Air 29.7 · YAC 6.9 avg

Overall 55.8% completion on 251 attempts · 40% completion on 40 deep attempts (20+ air yds).

Situational

Is he a different quarterback when it matters

Each situation vs his own 2026 baseline

No situation moves him more than 18 percentile points from his baseline.

BaselineThis situation

Down 1

-18 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 3/74 (4.1%) · league sack rate 4.5%

Down 2

+2 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 2/88 (2.3%) · league sack rate 5.0%

Down 3+

+15 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 6/82 (7.3%) · league sack rate 8.3%

Deltas are vs. this player’s own season baseline, never a league average. League sack rate by down is shown as context because sack attribution isn’t incompletion-denominated.

Teams and coaches

2 seasons under Mark Carney — 8-13 over that span.

2025Kent State5-7HC: Mark Carney · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2026Kent State3-6HC: Mark Carney · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 39 (#101 of 145). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

39Below cohort / limited sample #101 of 145?

13 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: success rate (9th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Sack rate#65 / 157 · 59th pct

4.9%

Explosive rate#104 / 157 · 34th pct

9.2%

Interception rate#114 / 157 · 28th pct

2.8%

EPA / dropback#140 / 157 · 11th pct

-0.03

Success rate#143 / 157 · 9th pct

34.8%

Box-score rates (8)

Rush yards#34 / 159 · 79th pct

260

Rush TDs#28 / 159 · 79th pct

Pass yards#63 / 159 · 61st pct

1624

Pass TDs#81 / 159 · 45th pct

Yards / att#129 / 159 · 18th pct

6.5

Fumbles lost#114 / 142 · 12th pct

Completion %#140 / 159 · 12th pct

55.8%

Interceptions#133 / 159 · 12th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / dropback

61st → 11th percentile

Success rate

19th → 9th percentile

Explosive rate

86th → 34th percentile

Sack rate

44th → 59th percentile

Interception rate

83rd → 28th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Zeitgeist Passer Rating

2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.

After 244 dropbacks

24Zeitgeist Passer Rating110th of 119 FBS QBs

NCAA passer rating 116.4 110th of 119 FBS QBs

Positive-play rate weight 24%

38.7%5th pct of FBS QBs

share of dropbacks that gained expected points · -1.9% schedule adj.

Yards per attempt weight 56%

6.2711th pct of FBS QBs

sacks excluded · -0.5 schedule adj.

Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)

5.5%52nd pct of FBS QBs

the input passer rating cannot see · +1.0% schedule adj.

Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (20 of 264 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. How ZPR is built.

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home4g	237	1.8	8.2	1.0
Road5g	135	0.4	4.6	0.6

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-77g	163	0.6	5.9	0.9
Weeks 8+2g	242	2.5	7.3	0.5

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Mark Carney

Pass share

48.2%

271 pass / 291 run

Plays / game

62.4

9 games

Scheme: Balanced.

Kent State’s quarterbacks

Dru DeShields	Threw in all 9 games · 140 of 251, 1,624 yds, 9 TD, 7 INT · 6.5 yards an attempt on 251 attempts · ran for 260 yds, 4 TD
Nolan Good	Threw in 5 of 9 games · 3 of 14, 24 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT · 1.7 yards an attempt on 14 attempts · ran for 64 yds, 0 TD
Deante Ruffin	Threw in 1 of 9 games · 1 of 3, -1 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · -0.3 yards an attempt on 3 attempts · ran for 7 yds, 0 TD
Ethan Thanthanavong	Threw in 2 of 9 games · 1 of 2, 16 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · 8.0 yards an attempt on 2 attempts · ran for -14 yds, 0 TD

Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.

Who threw, quarter by quarter

Who threw in each quarter. Blue: Dru DeShields. Gray: Ethan Thanthanavong, Nolan Good, Deante Ruffin. From the play by play.

Q1Q2Q3Q4@ South CarolinaWofford@ Ohio StateBall StateOhio@ Western Michigan@ South FloridaAkron@ Sacramento State

Awards

Player standing · 2026

Impact starter

251 pass attempts and 76 carries in 9 games, about as many passes and runs a game as a typical FBS quarterback who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

39 · #101 of 145 QBs

Three-star recruit. Now #101 at the position.

2026 outlook

In the mix for All-MAC

Based on 2025: #5 of 12 Mid-American QBs

How the All-MAC base rate is computed

A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).

Starter

The No. 2,062 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Mid-American as a redshirt junior.

Dru DeShields

Style of play

This week

What’s being said

Worth knowing

His most important play this season

In the news in the last 30 days

In the news this season

What they’re talking about

Week by week

In the news across his career

What fans said

Latest stories

In the game threads

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

The latest game

The season, game by game

Highs and lows

Where he ranks

Pass targets

Passing profile

Situational

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Kent State’s quarterbacks

Who threw, quarter by quarter

Awards

Impact starter

Starter

Four seasons at Kent State

2023