Last confirmed: NC State, 2016. No 2026 box-score games on record.
5′9″ · Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Matthew Dayes: RB · NC State · #21.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Matthew Dayes
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. He has spent three seasons in the NC State backfield. One game to point at: 138 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards against William & Mary — Week 1, 2016.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 14.7% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 17.0% of his carries. 5 carries for 13 yds vs Louisville; 23 for 138 vs William & Mary.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
Not actually a closer
51.8% of carries overall (245/473) → 33.7% of Q4-with-lead carries (29/86) — 89.7% 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
14 of 21 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (66.7%). 17 of the team's 31 inside-the-5 carries (54.8%).
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2016 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 48-14vs William & Mary | 23 | 138 | 6.0 | 2 | 30 | |
| Wk 2 | L 30-33@ East Carolina | 14 | 103 | 7.4 | 0 | 54 | |
| Wk 3 | W 49-22vs Old Dominion | 14 | 71 | 5.1 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 5 | W 33-16vs Wake Forest | 24 | 125 | 5.2 | 1 | 29 | |
| Wk 6 | W 10-3vs Notre Dame | 23 | 126 | 5.5 | 0 | 28 | |
| Wk 7 | L 17-24@ No. 3 Clemson | 22 | 106 | 4.8 | 1 | 17 | |
| Wk 8 | L 13-54@ No. 7 Louisville | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 9 | L 14-21vs Boston College | 19 | 45 | 2.4 | 0 | 24 | |
| Wk 10 | L 20-24vs No. 19 Florida State | 23 | 104 | 4.5 | 0 | 25 | |
| Wk 11 | W 35-20@ Syracuse | 27 | 108 | 4.0 | 3 | 20 | 3 rushing TDs |
| Wk 12 | L 13-27vs Miami | 20 | 76 | 3.8 | 1 | 23 | |
| Wk 13 | W 28-21@ North Carolina | 26 | 104 | 4.0 | 2 | 18 | |
 Bowl | W 41-17@ Vanderbilt | 9 | 47 | 5.2 | 0 | 16 | |
| Total | 249 | 1166 | 4.7 | 10 | 54 |
Week 13 · 2016
W 28-21
104 rush yds (26 car) · 2 TD · 3 rec · 36 yds
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 on the road.
With A. Cole III — 47 yards per punt · 5 punts · 52 long · J. Samuels — 59 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 100.0 · 15 rush yds (3 car) · 1 TD
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
41%238 carriesFumble rate
1.2%3 of 249 carries · 3 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.7 yds/carry on 249 carries · 10% explosive (10+ yds) · 41% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
3 seasons under Dave Doeren, all run-leaning offenses — 22-17 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2016 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 97.9 | 4.6 | 0.6 |
| Road5g | 86.8 | 4.6 | 1.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 102 | 5.6 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 75.0 | 3.6 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dave Doeren
Pass share
46.8%
438 pass / 498 run
Plays / game
72.0
13 games
Team sack rate
3.7%
456 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2016
249 carries and 32 catches in 13 games, more touches a game than nearly every FBS running back who plays every week.
How it ended
Three seasons at NC State, 2,604 rushing yards — drafted at #252 overall by the Cleveland Browns.
His career
He has a stat line in 34 games over 3 seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2013–2016
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Dave Doeren.
Where he ended up · NFL
Cleveland BrownsEntering 10th NFL season
Cleveland BrownsEntering 10th NFL season
