Gavin Williams: RB · Northern Illinois · #21.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Gavin Williams
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Played for two head coaches at two programs in five seasons: Kirk Ferentz and Thomas Hammock. A game that shows it: 125 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD against Massachusetts — Week 6, 2024.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 21.3% of the season's rushing yards came on the 5 best carries — remarkably even — and the back is stuffed on 7.4% of carries. 1 carry for 1 yds vs Ball State; 19 for 155 vs Massachusetts.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
25.5% of carries overall (133/522) → 31.6% of Q4-with-lead carries (24/76) — 100.0% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
6 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (28.6%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Northern Illinois | 139 | 749 | 5.4 | 4 | 71 |
| 2023 | Northern Illinois | 95 | 488 | 5.1 | 3 | 53 |
| 2022 | Iowa | 43 | 138 | 3.2 | 0 | 19 |
| 2021 | Iowa | 65 | 305 | 4.7 | 0 | 19 |
| 2020 | Iowa | 8 | 28 | 3.5 | 0 | 7 |
| Career | 350 | 1,708 | 4.9 | 7 | 71 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Northern Illinois | 25 | 140 | 5.6 | 1 | 35 |
| 2023 | Northern Illinois | 24 | 147 | 6.1 | 0 | 18 |
| 2022 | Iowa | 9 | 44 | 4.9 | 0 | 32 |
| 2021 | Iowa | 9 | 47 | 5.2 | 0 | 11 |
| 2020 | Iowa | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 67 | 378 | 5.6 | 1 | 35 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 54-15vs Western Illinois | 9 | 41 | 4.6 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 2 | W 16-14@ No. 5 Notre Dame | 17 | 59 | 3.5 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 4 | L 20-23vs Buffalo | 10 | 63 | 6.3 | 0 | 19 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-24@ NC State | 5 | 19 | 3.8 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 6 | W 34-20vs Massachusetts | 19 | 125 | 6.6 | 1 | 28 | Season-high 125 yds |
| Wk 7 | W 17-7@ Bowling Green | 29 | 102 | 3.5 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 8 | L 6-13vs Toledo | 16 | 78 | 4.9 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 9 | L 23-25@ Ball State | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-28@ Western Michigan | 8 | 42 | 5.3 | 1 | 25 | |
| Wk 12 | W 29-16vs Akron | 9 | 101 | 11.2 | 1 | 71 | |
| Wk 13 | L 9-20@ Miami (OH) | 6 | 45 | 7.5 | 0 | 20 | |
| Wk 14 | W 24-16vs Central Michigan | 6 | 65 | 10.8 | 1 | 24 | |
 Bowl | W 28-20vs Fresno State | 4 | 8 | 2.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Total | 139 | 749 | 5.4 | 4 | 71 |
Week 11 · 2024
W 42-28
42 rush yds (8 car) · 1 TD · 3 rec · 22 yds · 1 TD
Edged out Western Michigan on the road in a shootout.
With E. Hampton — 156 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 88.2 · 11 rush yds (3 car) · C. Thompson — 1 defensive TD
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How the yards come, and how often it works
Success rate
45%131 carriesFumble rate
1.4%2 of 139 carries · 2 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.4 yds/carry on 139 carries · 16% explosive (10+ yds) · 45% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 78.8 | 7.4 | 0.5 |
| Road6g | 44.7 | 4.1 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 59.6 | 4.3 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 55.3 | 6.8 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Thomas Hammock
Pass share
40.1%
368 pass / 549 run
Plays / game
70.5
13 games
Team sack rate
4.4%
388 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
139 carries and 25 catches in 13 games, about as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #107 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Iowa and Northern Illinois, 1,708 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Kirk Ferentz and Thomas Hammock.
