Junior running back for Oregon. 2021: 406 rushing yards, 6 rushing TD, 8 catches.
5′10″ · 210 lb · Chula Vista, CA
Recruiting
RB recruit
No. 438 nationally · Signed with Oregon
Statement game23 car · 257 yds · 3 TDvs Washington State (FBS) · W 37-35
Top 0.1% rushing yards game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 running back for Oregon. 2021: 406 rushing yards, 6 rushing TD, 8 catches.
CJ Verdell
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. CJ Verdell has been at Oregon through two head coaches in four seasons. One game to point at: 161 rush yds, 34 rec yds against Ohio State — Week 2, 2021.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Oregon, 2,923 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2018–2021
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mario Cristobal → Bryan McClendon. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: long run (92nd percentile). Concern: explosive rate (8th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
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).
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 5 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 60.7 | 4.5 | 1.0 |
| Road2g | 112 | 5.9 | 1.5 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 81.2 | 5.1 | 1.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dan Lanning
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2021
Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2021
W 35–28
at Ohio State
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 5 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-24vs Fresno State | 18 | 74 | 4.1 | 1 | 14 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-28@ Ohio State | 20 | 161 | 8.1 | 2 | 77 | Season-high 161 yds |
| Wk 3 | W 48-7vs Stony Brook | 12 | 63 | 5.3 | 1 | 17 | |
| Wk 4 | W 41-19vs Arizona | 11 | 45 | 4.1 | 1 | 13 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-31@ Stanford | 17 | 63 | 3.7 | 1 | 11 | |
| Total | 78 | 406 | 5.1 | 6 | 77 |
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
His 2021 production profile sits closest to Nelson Smith’s 2020 season.
Matches Nelson on
Differs from Nelson on
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Jason Patterson’s path through Kentucky.
Matches Jason on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Keyjuan Brown's senior season at Louisville (2024).
Matches Keyjuan on
Differs from Keyjuan on
Player DNA
Final Heisman position · 2021
CJ Verdell finished 83rd in our Heisman model, with a 0% chance of a finalist trip.