Max Johnson

#7 · QB · Georgia Southern6′5″ · 220 lb · Athens, GA · Oconee County

ZPR5351st of 119 QBsLast gameW 19–3vs App State · Oct 31
Nextvs MarshallSat Nov 7 · 3:30 pm ET
via gseagles.com ↗

Georgia Southern is 3-4 in the seven games with 10 or more passes thrown. A rhythm passer who throws shorter than most.

Strongest: an interception on 0.8% of throws, 16th lowest of 158 starters.

Passing yards

1,928

190 of 279, 68%

TD–INT

11–2

6.9 per throw

NCAA rating

137.7

68th of 119

ZPR

53

51st of 119

How ZPR works

Getting better, from shaky early to great lately.

Best by our grade: James Madison. Lowest: at Clemson, sacked 3 times. Biggest game: Houston, No. 25. Best play: Completion for 18 yards, touchdown, at Coastal Carolina, Q1 2:37. Win chance 57% to 85%. Costliest play: Interception, at Jacksonville State, Q4 1:52. Win chance 35% to 14%.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

Season

Steady through the game

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. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. 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

Rhythm passer

Why this word
Runs2.5 a gameRarelyA lot
Throws7.0 yards past the lineShortDeep
Completes68%FewerMore
Takes sacks2% of dropbacksRarelyOften

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

Throws shorter than most and runs some. 2.5 carries a game. Closest matches: McCown, Johnson, Raiola, Minchey.

Where the throws go

Behind the line19%typical 17%
Short52%typical 47%
Middle19%typical 22%
Deep9%typical 14%

Runs 2.5 times a game; 75% of starters run more.

Closest in style

McCownJohnsonRaiolaMincheyThis QB

Nearer the middle means more alike.

  • McCown UTSA · Rhythm passer
    1,751 yards, 10 TD, 4 INT so far. Both hit few big plays and complete a lot.
  • Johnson Kansas State · Dual-threat
    1,301 yards, 10 TD, 3 INT so far. Both protect the ball and hit few big plays.
  • Raiola Oregon · Pocket passer
    1,097 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT so far. Both avoid sacks and throw short.
  • Minchey Kentucky · Rhythm passer
    1,755 yards, 14 TD, 1 INT so far. Both throw short and complete a lot.

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

  • RecordGeorgia Southern is 4-4.
  • Last gameOct. 31 · a win over App State, 327 passing yards.
  • Next gamevs Marshall · Sat Nov 7

Worth knowing

  • Max Johnson played at LSU, Texas A&M and North Carolina before joining Georgia Southern.
  • Max Johnson has been sacked on 2.1% of dropbacks, the 8th-fewest among FBS quarterbacks.

His most important play this season

  1. Q1, 2:37 · Georgia Southern up 3Max Johnson finds Zay Hilliard for an 18-yard touchdownGeorgia Southern at Coastal Carolina, week 5Q1, 2:37 · Georgia Southern 10, Coastal Carolina 0▲28%Georgia Southern’s chance to win, 57% to 85%▲28%Georgia Southern’s chance to win, 57% to 85%M.Johnson pass complete short left to Z.Hilliard caught at CCU00, for 18 yards to the CCU00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this play Sun Belt Conference

All 10 of his plays on video

Max Johnson

QB · Georgia Southern · #7

Filling the Shoesas of Nov 4

Max Johnson takes over from JC French at Georgia Southern.

1,928passing yards11passing TD42rushing yards

PRODUCES ABOVE PERCEPTION · PCTL GAP

+22

perception vs production percentile · 2026

The production (60th) is outrunning the reputation (38th). The recognition is the thing lagging behind.

Read the story so far

Max Johnson arrived as a 4-star prospect, the No.256 recruit nationally. Max Johnson lines up at QB for Georgia Southern.

On the field, the headline is 1,928 pass yds, with 11 pass td.

Max Johnson inherited the QB job from JC French (3-star).

The number to watch: +22 — produces above perception · pctl gap.

QB successionleap of faith
  • Inherited fromJC French 3★

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04