Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
2/23Inside-5 share
2 of the team's 23 inside-the-5 carries (8.7%).
John Lovett
John Lovett: RB · Penn State · #23.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
John Lovett
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Played for three head coaches across five seasons and two programs. One game to point at: 45 rushing yards and 1 receiving yards against Villanova — Week 4, 2021.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Penn State in the news
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Penn State | 52 | 177 | 3.4 | 0 | 18 |
| 2020 | Baylor | 45 | 130 | 2.9 | 1 | 19 |
| 2019 | Baylor | 103 | 655 | 6.4 | 5 | 46 |
| 2018 | Baylor | 109 | 573 | 5.3 | 6 | 75 |
| 2017 | Baylor | 98 | 445 | 4.5 | 5 | 74 |
| Career | 407 | 1,980 | 4.9 | 17 | 75 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Penn State | 9 | 36 | 4.0 | 0 | 18 |
| 2020 | Baylor | 9 | 49 | 5.4 | 1 | 11 |
| 2019 | Baylor | 8 | 66 | 8.2 | 0 | 24 |
| 2018 | Baylor | 5 | 48 | 9.6 | 0 | 18 |
| 2017 | Baylor | 7 | 20 | 2.9 | 0 | 6 |
| Career | 38 | 219 | 5.8 | 1 | 24 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | W 28-20vs No. 22 Auburn | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-17vs Villanova | 11 | 45 | 4.1 | 0 | 13 | Season-high 45 yds |
| Wk 5 | W 24-0vs Indiana | 10 | 41 | 4.1 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 8 | L 18-20vs Illinois | 5 | 21 | 4.2 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-33@ No. 5 Ohio State | 13 | 20 | 1.5 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-14@ Maryland | 7 | 24 | 3.4 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 11 | L 17-21vs No. 9 Michigan | 4 | 17 | 4.3 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 13 | L 27-30@ No. 12 Michigan State | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 52 | 177 | 3.4 | 0 | 18 |
Signature game
Week 4 · 2021
W 38-17
vs Villanova
45 rush yds (11 car) · 1 rec · 1 yds
Dominant 21-point win at home against Villanova.
With S. Clifford — 401 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 75.2 · J. Stout — 38.5 yards per punt · 4 punts · 4 inside the 20
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 4 · Villanova · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA −2.26Sean Clifford pass complete to John Lovett for 1 yd to the Villa 22 PENN ST Penalty, Offensive Holding (Cam Sullivan-Brown) to the Villa 32
- Week 3 · Auburn · 2nd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +2.21Sean Clifford pass complete to John Lovett for 18 yds to the Aub 43 for a
- Week 10 · Maryland · 3rd and 4 · Q2 · EPA +2.00John Lovett run for 7 yds to the PnSt 48 for a
- Week 8 · Illinois · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.61John Lovett run for 18 yds to the PnSt 43 for a
- Week 8 · Illinois · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.61John Lovett run for 18 yds to the PnSt 43 for a
- Week 5 · Indiana · 3rd and 5 · Q1 · EPA −1.39John Lovett run for a loss of 2 yards to the Ind 33
4 more plays
- Week 4 · Villanova · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.35John Lovett run for 9 yds to the PnSt 48
- Week 11 · Michigan · 2nd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +1.34John Lovett run for 10 yds to the PnSt 39 for a
- Week 4 · Villanova · 2nd and 4 · Q3 · EPA +1.24John Lovett run for 13 yds to the PnSt 39 for a
- Week 4 · Villanova · 3rd and 2 · Q2 · EPA −1.17John Lovett run for a loss of 1 yard to the Villa 33
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
All 52 box-score carries covered (play-by-play lists 56)
Success rate
32%56 carriesFumble rate
1.9%1 of 52 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer yds25%of carries
14 carries
Grind
1–3 yds38%of carries
21 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds27%of carries
15 carries
Explosive
10+ yds11%of carries
6 carries
2 of 4 (50%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go)
3.4 yds/carry on 52 carries · 11% explosive (10+ yds) · 32% success rate.
Teams and coaches
2017Baylor1-11HC: Matt Rhule · Balanced
2018Baylor7-6HC: Matt Rhule · Balanced, fast tempo
2019Baylor11-3HC: Matt Rhule · Run-leaning
2020Baylor2-7HC: Dave Aranda · Balanced
2021Penn State7-6HC: James Franklin · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 26.6 | 4.2 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 14.7 | 2.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 31.7 | 4.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 16.4 | 3.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Pass share
52.2%
458 pass / 419 run
Plays / game
73.1
12 games
Team sack rate
6.8%
547 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2021
52 carries and 9 catches in 8 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
30 · #308 of 315 RBs · 2021
Three-star recruit. Now #308 at the position.
Five seasons, two schools
- 2021 Penn State FranklinYear 5 · 8 games
- Dec 2020 Entered the transfer portalBaylor to Penn State
- 2020 Baylor ArandaYear 4 · 5 games
- 2019 Baylor RhuleYear 3 · 14 games
- 2018 Baylor RhuleYear 2 · 12 games
- 2017 Baylor RhuleYear 1 · 11 games
- High school CherokeeBurlington, NJ · Class of 2017Three-star, No. 502 in the 2017 class. Signed with Baylor.
Moves
- Transferred from Baylor to Penn State, Dec 16, 2020.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Baylor and Penn State, 1,980 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 50 games over five seasons.
2017 11 games
- Signed with BaylorThree-star, out of Cherokee
2021 8 games
- Transferred to Penn Statefrom Baylor
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Matt Rhule, Dave Aranda and James Franklin.