#88

Kalil Pimpleton

Junior wide receiver for Central Michigan. 2021: 62 catches, 960 receiving yards, 4 TD.

WR · Central Michigan · Jr. · #88

5′9″ · 175 lb · Muskegon, MI

CFB Index 74 · #49 of 468 WRsHigh confidenceAll-Conf 1st teamCentral Michigan 2021 alumnus

The story

3 wide receiver for Central Michigan. 2021: 62 catches, 960 receiving yards, 4 TD.

Named MAC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2021.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Central Michigan, 2,111 receiving yards, a first-team All-Conference season (2021) — his college career is complete.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

20206 games

All-MACsecond

202112 games

The role got bigger.

MAC Special Teams Player of the Yearwinner
All-MACfirst

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

2 teams

2017–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

6 honors · 1 category

🥈

ALL-MAC · 1ST TEAM

All-MAC 1st team (2021)

Coaching lineage · 2017–2021

2 coaches

2017

John Bonamego

Central Michigan

2019–2021

Jim McElwain

Central Michigan

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: John Bonamego → Jim McElwain. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2017Virginia Tech9-4HC: Justin Fuente · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2019Central Michigan8-6HC: Jim McElwain · Balanced

2020Central Michigan3-3HC: Jim McElwain · Run-leaning

2021Central Michigan9-4HC: Jim McElwain · Run-leaning, fast tempo

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

74Quality starter #49 of 468?

High confidence13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: rush tds (98th percentile). Strength: rec yards (92nd percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#141 / 655 · 79th pct

15.1

Explosive rate#141 / 655 · 78th pct

18.5%

EPA / target#332 / 655 · 49th pct

0.64

TD rate#385 / 655 · 41st pct

4.9%

Catch rate#423 / 655 · 35th pct

71.6%

Box-score rates (8)

Rush TDs#5 / 273 · 98th pct

Rec yards#43 / 557 · 92nd pct

960

Rush yards#24 / 273 · 91st pct

Receptions#60 / 557 · 89th pct

Long catch#79 / 557 · 85th pct

Fumbles lost#1 / 223 · 80th pct

Yards / catch#128 / 557 · 77th pct

15.5

Rec TDs#145 / 557 · 70th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Explosive rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Catch rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

TD rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Yards / catch— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

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 & context

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	5.0	78.5	15.1	0.2
Road6g	4.7	76.3	15.4	0.5

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	4.6	63.7	13.4	0.1
Weeks 8+5g	5.2	96.6	17.8	0.6

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Matt Drinkall

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

74 · #49 of 468 WRs

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Central Michigan	62	960	15.5	4	--
2020	Central Michigan	24	257	10.7	2	--
2019	Central Michigan	82	894	10.9	6	--
2017	Virginia Tech	--	--	--	--	--
Career		168	2,111	12.6	12	--

Season	Team
2021	Central Michigan	16	84	--	290	2
2020	Central Michigan	15	109	26	55	--
2019	Central Michigan	7	81	--	208	--
2017	Virginia Tech	1	4	--	--	--
Career		39	278	26	553	2

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 7 · 2021

W 26–23

vs Toledo

5 rush yds (3 car)

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 at home.

With L. Elzinga — 39 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 58 LONG · D. Richardson — 204 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 51.3 · -9 rush yds (3 car)

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 8 · Northern Illinois · 3&10 · Q2 · EPA +7.07Daniel Richardson pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 72 yds for a TD (Marshall Meeder KICK)
Week 12 · Ball State · 2&11 · Q2 · EPA +4.42Kalil Pimpleton 50 Yd pass from Daniel Richardson (Marshall Meeder Kick)
Week 1 · Washington State · 3&7 · Q1 · EPA +3.71Daniel Richardson pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 30 yds to the WshSt 37 for a 1ST down
Week 10 · Western Michigan · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +3.60Daniel Richardson pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 50 yds to the WMich 31 for a 1ST down
Week 7 · Toledo · 2&10 · Q4 · EPA +3.39Kalil Pimpleton pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 32 yds to the Toled 34 for a 1ST down
Week 7 · Toledo · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +3.29Daniel Richardson pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 42 yds to the Toled 38 for a 1ST down
Week 6 · Ohio · 2&10 · Q4 · EPA +3.28Daniel Richardson pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 28 yds for a TD, (Marshall Meeder KICK)
Week 10 · Western Michigan · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +3.21Daniel Richardson pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 43 yds to the WMich 32 for a 1ST down
Week 4 · Florida International · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +3.09Daniel Richardson pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 38 yds to the FlaIn 42 for a 1ST down
Week 4 · Florida International · 3&11 · Q1 · EPA +2.87Jacob Sirmon pass complete to Kalil Pimpleton for 16 yds to the CMich 46 for a 1ST down

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 24-34@ Missouri	4	38	9.5	0	27
Wk 2	W 45-0vs Robert Morris	2	27	13.5	0	23
Wk 3	L 21-49@ LSU	3	35	11.7	0	19
Wk 4	W 31-27vs Florida International	8	117	14.6	0	38
Wk 5	L 17-28@ Miami (OH)	4	48	12.0	0	27
Wk 6	W 30-27@ Ohio	5	78	15.6	1	28
Wk 7	W 26-23vs Toledo	6	103	17.2	0	42
Wk 8	L 38-39vs Northern Illinois	6	130	21.7	1	72	130-yard receiving day
Wk 10	W 42-30@ Western Michigan	5	115	23.0	1	50
Wk 11	W 54-30vs Kent State	4	56	14.0	0	29
Wk 12	W 37-17@ Ball State	7	144	20.6	1	50	Season-high 144 yds
Wk 13	W 31-10vs Eastern Michigan	4	38	9.5	0	14
Total		58	929	15.2	4	72

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology