Donnie Gray

#12 · WR · Sr. · Massachusetts6′2″ · 210 lb · New Haven, CT · Deerfield Academy

Donnie Gray is a wide receiver who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Massachusetts.

Gray moves the chains on third down. Played for three head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Pat Fitzgerald, David Braun and Joe Harasymiak. One game to point at: 60 receiving yards and 7 rushing yards against Kent State — Week 7, 2025.

Style of play

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Julian Ortega-JonesTexas State · 2022 · 79% season match
Isaiah WashingtonRutgers · 2021 · 79% season match
John Jackson IIINevada · 2023 · 79% season match
Casey WashingtonIllinois · 2022 · 78% season match
Blaine GreenOklahoma State · 2023 · 77% season match

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2025	Massachusetts	27	260	9.6	41
2024	Northwestern	2	20	10.0	16
2023	Northwestern	1	4	4.0	4
2022	Northwestern	1	18	18.0	18
Career		31	302	9.7	41

Season	Team
2025	Massachusetts	4	24
2024	Northwestern	--	--
2023	Northwestern	--	--
2022	Northwestern	--	--
Career		4	24

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 10-42vs Temple	1	5	5.0	5
Wk 2	L 26-27vs Bryant	2	55	27.5	41
Wk 3	L 7-47@ Iowa	2	27	13.5	22
Wk 5	L 6-42@ No. 20 Missouri	2	28	14.0	15
Wk 6	L 3-21vs Western Michigan	1	8	8.0	8
Wk 7	L 6-42@ Kent State	6	60	10.0	19	Season-high 60 yds
Wk 8	L 21-28vs Buffalo	1	2	2.0	2
Wk 9	L 13-38@ Central Michigan	1	7	7.0	7
Wk 11	L 10-44@ Akron	1	3	3.0	3
Wk 12	L 3-45vs Northern Illinois	7	41	5.9	13
Wk 14	L 14-45vs Bowling Green	3	24	8.0	12
Total		27	260	9.6	41

Signature game

Week 3 · 2025

L 7-47

at Iowa

2 rec · 27 yds · 9 rush yds (1 car)

With K. Andrews — 44 yards per punt · 7 punts · 59 long · A. Hairston — 56 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 38.1

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 2 · Bryant · 3rd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +3.80Grant Jordan pass complete to Donnie Gray for 41 yds to the BRY 14 for a
Week 2 · Bryant · 3rd and 8 · Q1 · EPA +2.87Brandon Rose pass complete to Donnie Gray for 14 yds to the BRY 39 for a
Week 5 · Missouri · 3rd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.37AJ Hairston pass complete to Donnie Gray for 15 yds to the MASS 40 for a
Week 7 · Kent State · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.35AJ Hairston pass complete to Donnie Gray for 14 yds to the 50 yard line for a
Week 7 · Kent State · 2nd and 17 · Q3 · EPA +2.17AJ Hairston pass complete to Donnie Gray for 19 yds to the MASS 37 for a
Week 12 · Northern Illinois · 3rd and 7 · Q3 · EPA +2.13Rose to Gray: a 13-yard pass.

4 more plays

Week 3 · Iowa · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.98AJ Hairston pass complete to Donnie Gray for 22 yds to the MASS 47 for a
Week 12 · Northern Illinois · 3rd and 4 · Q2 · EPA +1.86Rose to Gray: a 9-yard pass.
Week 14 · Bowling Green · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.79Jordan to Gray: a 12-yard pass.
Week 1 · Temple · 3rd and 5 · Q4 · EPA +1.49Brandon Rose pass complete to Donnie Gray for 5 yds to the MASS 35 for a

Receiving profile

Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth

How often he's targeted, and how well it works

27 rec · 260 yds · 0 TD

All 27 box-score receptions covered (play-by-play lists 29)

22 of 53 targets charted for true throw depth

Targets

5313% of team targets

Catch rate

55%29 of 53 targets

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

14% of targets (3)

67%catch rate

Air -1.3 · YAC 2.0 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

45% of targets (10)

80%catch rate

Air 4.8 · YAC 1.5 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

27% of targets (6)

33%catch rate

Air 12.3 · YAC 0.0 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

14% of targets (3)

0%catch rate

Air 32.7 avg

55% catch rate on 53 targets · 13% of the team's targets.

Situational

Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)

Third-down role

27%14 of his 51 targets came on third down · Receiver median is 24%

Teams and coaches

2022Northwestern1-11HC: Pat Fitzgerald · Balanced

2023Northwestern8-5HC: David Braun · Run-leaning

2024Northwestern4-8HC: David Braun · Balanced, slow tempo

2025Massachusetts0-12HC: Joe Harasymiak · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 33 (#386 of 485). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2025 season

33Below cohort / limited sample #386 of 485 · 2025?

12 metrics · season cumulative

2025 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Concern: catch rate (11th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

EPA / target#547 / 798 · 32nd pct

0.29

Yards / catch#599 / 798 · 25th pct

9.4

TD rate#507 / 798 · 18th pct

0.0%

Explosive rate#691 / 798 · 13th pct

3.9%

Catch rate#709 / 798 · 11th pct

54.9%

Box-score rates (7)

Rush yards#99 / 287 · 65th pct

Receptions#320 / 558 · 41st pct

Rush TDs#67 / 287 · 39th pct

Long catch#367 / 558 · 33rd pct

Rec yards#398 / 558 · 29th pct

260

Yards / catch#479 / 558 · 14th pct

9.6

Rec TDs#482 / 558 · 7th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2025. 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

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	2.5	22.5	9.4	0.0
Road5g	2.4	25.0	9.5	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.3	30.5	13.0	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	2.6	15.4	5.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Joe Harasymiak

Pass share

54.2%

415 pass / 351 run

Plays / game

63.8

12 games

Team sack rate

7.2%

461 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

27 catches and 4 carries in 11 games

Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

33 · #386 of 485 WRs · 2025

Three-star recruit. Now #386 at the position.

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-MAC

Based on 2025: #28 of 38 Mid-American WRs

How the All-MAC base rate is computed

A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).

Starter

The No. 1,880 recruit in the country is starting at receiver in the Mid-American as a senior.