Sam Mays

WR · Illinois 2018 · #9

Last confirmed: Illinois, 2018. No 2026 box-score games on record.

6′3″ · 200 lb · Missouri City, TX

Sam Mays: WR · Illinois · #9.

Players he’s like

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Braelon RobertsUtah State · 2016 · 94% season match
James ButlerLouisiana · 2014 · 91% season match
Omar BaylessArkansas State · 2016 · 89% season match
Jared CrumpWake Forest · 2014 · 88% season match
Ashton BroyldSyracuse · 2014 · 88% season match

Sam Mays

WR · Illinois · Sr · #9

Moves the chains on third down. Sam Mays has been at Illinois through two head coaches in four seasons. On tape: 69 receiving yards and 4 receptions against Northwestern, Week 13, 2018.

How he plays

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

News and fans

No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.

Illinois in the news

Jalen Lott, Messiah Hampton out vs IllinoisDucks Wire Oct 24
Oregon WR Evan Stewart arrested for DUIOct 19
Katin Houser out for season with hand injuryOct 11
Roger Cooper named DCAlton Telegraph Oct 4

Where to follow him

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2018	Illinois	29	331	11.4	0
2017	Illinois	--	−4	--	0
2016	Illinois	13	158	12.2	1
2015	Illinois	7	78	11.1	1
Career		49	563	11.5	2

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2018 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 31-24vs Kent State	4	47	11.8	17
Wk 2	W 34-14vs Western Illinois	4	42	10.5	16
Wk 3	L 19-25vs South Florida	1	13	13.0	13
Wk 4	L 24-63vs No. 10 Penn State	3	26	8.7	11
Wk 6	W 38-17@ Rutgers	2	11	5.5	7
Wk 7	L 7-46vs Purdue	2	37	18.5	30
Wk 9	L 33-63@ Maryland	2	16	8.0	10
Wk 10	W 55-31vs Minnesota	2	14	7.0	9
Wk 11	L 35-54@ Nebraska	2	32	16.0	17
Wk 12	L 0-63vs Iowa	3	24	8.0	12
Wk 13	L 16-24@ No. 20 Northwestern	4	69	17.3	28	Season-high 69 yds
Total		29	331	11.4	30

Signature game

Week 13 · 2018

L 16-24

at Northwestern

4 rec · 69 yds

With A. Bush — 281 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · 56 rush yds (16 car) · B. Hayes — 41 yards per punt · 3 punts · 1 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 13 · Northwestern · 3rd and 14 · Q1 · EPA +3.73AJ Bush Jr. pass complete to Sam Mays for 26 yds to the Nwest 44 for a
Week 7 · Purdue · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.35AJ Bush Jr. pass complete to Sam Mays for 30 yds to the Prdue 38 for a
Week 2 · Western Illinois · 3rd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.92M.J. Rivers pass complete to Sam Mays for 12 yds to the WIll 39 for a
Week 11 · Nebraska · 2nd and 12 · Q1 · EPA +2.78AJ Bush Jr. pass complete to Sam Mays for 17 yds to the Neb 46 for a
Week 4 · Penn State · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +1.99M.J. Rivers II pass complete to Sam Mays for 11 yds to the PnSt 43 for a
Week 1 · Kent State · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.92AJ Bush pass complete to Sam Mays for 17 yds to the KntSt 31 for a

4 more plays

Week 4 · Penn State · 2nd and 9 · Q4 · EPA +1.89M.J. Rivers II pass complete to Sam Mays for 10 yds to the Illin 46 for a
Week 11 · Nebraska · 2nd and 5 · Q4 · EPA +1.68AJ Bush Jr. pass complete to Sam Mays for 15 yds to the Illin 44 for a
Week 1 · Kent State · 3rd and 1 · Q1 · EPA +1.44AJ Bush pass complete to Sam Mays for 13 yds to the Illin 35 for a
Week 13 · Northwestern · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.26AJ Bush Jr. pass complete to Sam Mays for 28 yds to the Nwest 23 for a

Teams and coaches

2015Illinois5-7HC: Bill Cubit · Pass-leaning, fast tempo

2016Illinois3-9HC: Lovie Smith · Balanced, slow tempo

2017Illinois2-10HC: Lovie Smith · Balanced, slow tempo

2018Illinois4-8HC: Lovie Smith · Run-heavy

Our ratings

Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

10 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: td rate (9th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#420 / 702 · 40th pct

11.4

EPA / target#537 / 702 · 24th pct

0.32

Explosive rate#579 / 702 · 18th pct

5.8%

Catch rate#625 / 702 · 11th pct

55.8%

TD rate#580 / 702 · 9th pct

0.0%

Box-score rates (5)

Receptions#287 / 550 · 47th pct

Rec yards#333 / 550 · 39th pct

331

Yards / catch#378 / 550 · 30th pct

11.4

Long catch#453 / 550 · 17th pct

Rec TDs#476 / 550 · 7th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

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

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2018 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	3.0	31.7	10.8	0.0
Road4g	2.5	32.0	11.7	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.7	29.3	11.3	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	2.6	31.0	11.3	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2018 season

Head Coach

Lovie Smith

Pass share

39.8%

326 pass / 494 run

Plays / game

68.3

12 games

Team sack rate

7.1%

366 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Awards

Player standing · 2018

29 catches in 11 games

Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.

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