Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
10/21Inside-5 share
10 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (47.6%).
Donovonn Young
Last confirmed: Illinois, 2014. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′0″ · Houston, TX · Katy
Donovonn Young: RB · Illinois · #5.
Players he’s like
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Donovonn Young
Wins in space out of the backfield. A game that shows it: 62 rushing yards and 12 receiving yards against Penn State — Week 13, 2014.
How he plays
How he plays
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
News and fans
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Illinois in the news
Where to follow him
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Illinois | 94 | 379 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Career | 94 | 379 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Illinois | 22 | 92 | 4.2 | 0 |
| Career | 22 | 92 | 4.2 | 0 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2014 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-17vs Youngstown State | 9 | 39 | 4.3 | 0 | 20 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-34vs Western Kentucky | 14 | 47 | 3.4 | 1 | 13 | |
| Wk 3 | L 19-44@ Washington | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 4 | W 42-35vs Texas State | 9 | 19 | 2.1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-45@ No. 21 Nebraska | 5 | 17 | 3.4 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 6 | L 27-38vs Purdue | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 1 | 7 | |
| Wk 7 | L 28-38@ Wisconsin | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 9 | W 28-24vs Minnesota | 3 | 35 | 11.7 | 0 | 20 | |
| Wk 10 | L 14-55@ No. 13 Ohio State | 8 | 22 | 2.8 | 1 | 6 | |
| Wk 12 | L 14-30vs Iowa | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 13 | W 16-14vs Penn State | 14 | 62 | 4.4 | 0 | 18 | Season-high 62 yds |
| Wk 14 | W 47-33@ Northwestern | 9 | 51 | 5.7 | 0 | 21 | |
 Bowl | L 18-35@ Louisiana Tech | 6 | 18 | 3.0 | 1 | 11 | |
| Total | 94 | 379 | 4.0 | 6 | 21 |
Signature game
Week 10 · 2014
L 14-55
at Ohio State
22 rush yds (8 car) · 1 TD
With J. DuVernois — 44.8 yards per punt · 4 punts · 53 long · A. Bailey — 79 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 6.0 · 39 rush yds (16 car)
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 2 · Western Kentucky · 4th and 1 · Q1 · EPA −4.21Donovonn Young run for no gain to the WKent 1
- Week 13 · Penn State · 2nd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.55Donovonn Young run for 18 yds to the Illin 48 for a
- Week 2 · Western Kentucky · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +2.45Donovonn Young run for 1 yd for a TD, (Taylor Zalewski KICK)
- Week 10 · Ohio State · 2nd and 5 · Q3 · EPA +2.44Donovonn Young run for 5 yds for a TD, (David Reisner KICK)
- Week 1 · Youngstown State · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +2.38Donovonn Young run for 20 yds to the YngSt 38 for a
- Week 14 · Northwestern · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.18Donovonn Young run for 13 yds to the Nwest 43 for a
4 more plays
- Week 6 · Purdue · 2nd and 2 · Q3 · EPA +2.07Donovonn Young run for 2 yds for a TD, (David Reisner MISSED)
- Week 1 · Louisiana Tech · 2nd and 2 · Q2 · EPA −2.01Donovonn Young run for a loss of 3 yards to the LaTch 49
- Week 4 · Texas State · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.91Wes Lunt pass complete to Donovonn Young for 24 yds to the TexSt 39 for a
- Week 7 · Wisconsin · 2nd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +1.90Donovonn Young run for 1 yd for a TD, (David Reisner KICK)
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
93 of 94 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
47%87 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds20%of carries
19 carries
Grind
1–3 yds38%of carries
35 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds31%of carries
29 carries
Explosive
10+ yds11%of carries
10 carries
6 of 9 (67%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 6 of 10 (60%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
4.0 yds/carry on 94 carries · 11% explosive (10+ yds) · 47% success rate.
Teams and coaches
2014Illinois6-7HC: Tim Beckman · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2014 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 35.0 | 4.9 | 0.4 |
| Road5g | 23.2 | 3.8 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 23.0 | 3.4 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 39.0 | 5.9 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tim Beckman
Pass share
53.5%
470 pass / 409 run
Plays / game
67.6
13 games
Team sack rate
6.9%
507 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2014
94 carries and 22 catches in 13 games
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Four seasons at Illinois
- 2014 Illinois BeckmanYear 4 · 13 games
- 2013 Illinois BeckmanYear 3 · on the roster, no stat line
- 2012 Illinois BeckmanYear 2 · on the roster, no stat line
- 2011 Illinois ZookYear 1 · on the roster, no stat line
- Before collegeSigned with Illinois in 2011 as a 3-star recruit, No. 1,066 in the country.
His moves
- Signed with Illinois in the 2011 class, a 3-star recruit.
How it ended
One season at Illinois, 379 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
His career
2011
- Signed with Illinois3-star out of Katy
Coaching lineage · 2011–2014
2 coaches2011
Illinois
Coaching transition mid-career: Ron Zook → Tim Beckman. Worth noting in scheme + development context.