Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
9/18Inside-5 share
9 of the team's 18 inside-the-5 carries (50.0%).
Ron Johnson
Last confirmed: UConn, 2016. No 2026 box-score games on record.
5′11″ · Naples, FL · Palmetto Ridge
Ron Johnson: RB · UConn · #3.
Players he’s like
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ron Johnson
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. A 2-star signing who has since put three seasons on the field at UConn. A game that shows it: 65 rushing yards and 14 receiving yards against Maine — Week 1, 2016.
How he plays
How he plays
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
News and fans
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
UConn in the news
Where to follow him
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2016 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-21vs Maine | 15 | 65 | 4.3 | 2 | 21 | Season-high 65 yds |
| Wk 2 | L 24-28@ Navy | 10 | 33 | 3.3 | 1 | 10 | |
| Wk 3 | W 13-10vs Virginia | 7 | 13 | 1.9 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-31vs Syracuse | 8 | 25 | 3.1 | 1 | 10 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-42@ No. 6 Houston | 6 | 11 | 1.8 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 6 | W 20-9vs Cincinnati | 4 | 21 | 5.3 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 7 | L 27-42@ South Florida | 6 | 20 | 3.3 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 8 | L 16-24vs UCF | 9 | 30 | 3.3 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 9 | L 3-41@ East Carolina | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 10 | L 0-21vs Temple | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 12 | L 0-30@ Boston College | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 13 | L 13-38vs Tulane | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Total | 72 | 242 | 3.4 | 4 | 21 |
Signature game
Week 1 · 2016
W 24-21
vs Maine
65 rush yds (15 car) · 2 TD · 2 rec · 14 yds
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 at home.
With B. Shirreffs — 162 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 71.5 · 95 rush yds (20 car) · J. Wain — 42.6 yards per punt · 5 punts · 51 long
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Maine · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA +2.79Ron Johnson run for 1 yd for a TD, (Bobby Puyol KICK)
- Week 1 · Maine · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.63Ron Johnson run for 21 yds for a TD, (Bobby Puyol KICK)
- Week 3 · Virginia · 3rd and 6 · Q3 · EPA +2.15Bryant Shirreffs pass complete to Ron Johnson for 7 yds to the Virg 43 for a
- Week 1 · Maine · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +1.70Ron Johnson run for 10 yds to the UConn 43 for a
- Week 2 · Navy · 1st and 3 · Q3 · EPA +1.46Ron Johnson run for 3 yds for a TD, (Bobby Puyol KICK)
- Week 1 · Maine · 2nd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +1.43Bryant Shirreffs pass complete to Ron Johnson for 8 yds to the Maine 49 for a
4 more plays
- Week 1 · Maine · 3rd and 1 · Q1 · EPA −1.42Ron Johnson run for a loss of 1 yard to the Maine 43
- Week 4 · Syracuse · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA −1.38Ron Johnson run for a loss of 1 yard to the UConn 43
- Week 4 · Syracuse · 1st and 2 · Q2 · EPA +1.21Ron Johnson run for 2 yds for a TD, (Bobby Puyol KICK)
- Week 3 · Virginia · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +1.21Ron Johnson run for no gain to the Virg 42 for a VIRGINIA Penalty, personal foul (15 Yards) to the Virg 43 for a
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
72 of 72 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
38%72 carriesFumble rate
2.8%2 of 72 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds25%of carries
18 carries
Grind
1–3 yds36%of carries
26 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds28%of carries
20 carries
Explosive
10+ yds11%of carries
8 carries
3 of 8 (38%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 3 of 9 (33%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
3.4 yds/carry on 72 carries · 11% explosive (10+ yds) · 38% success rate.
Teams and coaches
3 seasons under Bob Diaco — 11-26 over that span.
2014UConn2-10HC: Bob Diaco · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2015UConn6-7HC: Bob Diaco · Run-leaning
2016UConn3-9HC: Bob Diaco · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2016 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 23.0 | 3.6 | 0.4 |
| Road5g | 16.2 | 3.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 26.9 | 3.3 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 10.8 | 3.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bob Diaco
Pass share
47.8%
380 pass / 415 run
Plays / game
66.2
12 games
Team sack rate
9.0%
431 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2016
72 carries, 8 catches and 1 pass attempt in 12 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Three seasons at UConn
- 2016 UConn DiacoYear 3 · 12 games
- 2015 UConn DiacoYear 2 · 11 games
- 2014 UConn DiacoYear 1 · 12 games
- Before collegeSigned with UConn in 2014 as a 2-star recruit, No. 1,918 in the country.
His moves
- Signed with UConn in the 2014 class, a 2-star recruit.
How it ended
Three seasons at UConn, 895 rushing yards — drafted at #20 overall by the Cleveland Browns.
His career
He has a stat line in 35 games over 3 seasons.
2014 12 games
- Signed with UConn2-star out of Palmetto Ridge
Coaching lineage · 2014–2016
1 coach2014–2016
UConn
Played his entire career under Bob Diaco.
Where he ended up · NFL
Cleveland BrownsEntering 58th NFL season
#20Rd 1 · Pick 20
Cleveland BrownsEntering 58th NFL season