CFB Zeitgeist Score
43
Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by rush tds at the 89th percentile.
CJ Donaldson
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
361 RUSH YDS · 10 RUSH TD · 96 CARRIES
2026 Outlook
Returning to Ohio State for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Running back · Ohio State
Returning around him
- 31% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 11 Ohio State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -20 net (17 in / 37 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Ohio State · Last season: 12-2 (AP #3) · Talent rank #3 · 2026 recruiting class #4
RB · OHIO STATE · BIG TEN
CJ Donaldson
- 4
- #12
- 6-2 | 232 lb
- Miami, FL
Heisman Heat
#2436
<1% win probability
Fan Belief
Awaiting
Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.
Respect Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
Reality Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
ACCOLADE PROBABILITY
Heisman
<1%
TOP RB AWARD
Doak Walker
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Development Trajectory · rushing yards
2022–2025-31%
Sharp dropoff (-31%) — career inflection point.
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| No recruiting profile is on file for this player. | ||
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | West Virginia -> Ohio State | 3-star | 0.8900 | Immediate |
Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final
Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.
HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16Heisman Futures
Not yet listed on major futures markets.
No achievements unlocked yet this season.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Selector recognition fills in once the major honors lists (AP, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sporting News, SI) are scraped and ingested.
Today’s Hot-Take
The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.
Anti-Take
PENDINGThe contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.
The Room on CJ Donaldson
Fan sentiment ·
Belief Meter
50
Mixed Sentiment
Top Take
“”
Trajectory
Per-cohort trajectory lands when historical bucket data is aggregated.
Cohort divergence map
- Own fans · n=6
- National · n=4
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about CJ Donaldson
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
2025 Signature · 2025 season
Yards per carry
3.8
yds
P4 + Notre Dame RBs, min 80 carries
National rank #67 of 69
Percentile vs P4 + Notre Dame RBs, min 80 carries 3rd
Why it matters
#67 of 69 P4 + Notre Dame RBs at 3.8 yards per carry (96 carries).
Vs cohort
This player 3.8 (3th)
MODERATE · n=96 cohort 69
- Also strong
- Rushing yards (total)#67 / 69
Signature Moment
Week 1 vs Texas — 67 ypc
Result W 14-7
The week the volume broke through — put up 67 yds vs Texas.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the rushing totals stand
Through 13g
361Rush yards
96Carries
10Rush TDs
Per game
27.8Rush yards
7Carries
1Rush TDs
Final
361Rush yards
96Carries
10Rush TDs
✓ Hit 10 rushing TDs · finished with 10.
What made this player interesting
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
CJ Donaldson's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Ohio State, the card already shows enough current-season production to explain why he is on the serious-player board, and the next layer is determining whether the profile is just very good or actually distinctive.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
RB season snapshot
2025 season snapshot | final
2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
Passing-game back against FBS RB peers.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Rushing
CAR
96 76th
YDS
361 69th
YPC
3.8 27th
TD
10 96th
Receiving
REC
15 75th
YDS
96 68th
YPR
6.4 44th
TD
1 89th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 14-7vs Texas | 19 | 67 | 3.5 | 1 | 8 | Season-high 67 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 70-0vs Grambling | 5 | 45 | 9.0 | 1 | 27 | |
| Wk 3 | W 37-9vs Ohio | 9 | 39 | 4.3 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-6@ Washington | 9 | 39 | 4.3 | 1 | 11 | |
| Wk 6 | W 42-3vs Minnesota | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-16@ Illinois | 13 | 44 | 3.4 | 2 | 10 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-0@ Wisconsin | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 10 | W 38-14vs Penn State | 7 | 17 | 2.4 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 11 | W 34-10@ Purdue | 5 | 12 | 2.4 | 2 | 4 | |
| Wk 13 | W 42-9vs Rutgers | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 14 | W 27-9@ Michigan | 14 | 44 | 3.1 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 15 | L 10-13vs Indiana | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Bowl | L 14-24vs Miami | 7 | 31 | 4.4 | 0 | 12 | |
| Total | 96 | 361 | 3.9 | 10 | 27 |
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2022West Virginia5-7HC: Neal Brown · Balanced
2023West Virginia9-4HC: Neal Brown · Run-heavy
2025Ohio State12-2HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | 96 | 361 | 3.8 | 10 | -- |
| 2023 | West Virginia | 171 | 798 | 4.7 | 11 | -- |
| 2022 | West Virginia | 87 | 526 | 6.0 | 8 | -- |
| Career | 3 loaded seasons | 354 | 1,685 | 4.8 | 29 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | 15 | 96 | 6.4 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | West Virginia | 9 | 59 | 6.6 | 0 | -- |
| 2022 | West Virginia | 10 | 17 | 1.7 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 3 loaded seasons | 34 | 172 | 5.1 | 1 | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
Opponent-adjusted rushing value. It helps separate empty volume from carries that actually move the scoreboard.
How much of the team's offense flows through this back once rushing work and receiving work are combined.
Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.
The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Rushing yards | 361 | #230/735 | 69th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rush TD | 10 | #33/739 | 96th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Yards / carry | 3.8 | #534/735 | 27th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receptions | 15 | #140/552 | 75th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving yards | 96 | #177/548 | 68th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Value | Rushing WEPA | +0.24 | #26/362 | 93rd pct | Opponent-adjusted rushing value | 71 weighted playsvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Role share | 10.5% | #301/738 | 59th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Carries | 96 | #180/739 | 76th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rushing LONG | 27 | #321/733 | 56th pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving LONG | 14 | #323/540 | 40th pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Yards / catch | 6.4 | #310/548 | 44th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving TD | 1 | #60/552 | 89th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Rush share | 16.9% | #313/738 | 58th pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 14.2% | #86/738 | 88th pct | Money-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 10.9% | #324/738 | 56th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 10.3% | #331/738 | 55th pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 9.0% | #242/738 | 67th pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 8.7% | #397/738 | 46th pct | Early-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Pass share | 3.9% | #237/738 | 68th pct | Air-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 1 | #78/256 | 70th pct | Turnoversvs FBS RB |
Player Standing
Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION · Rung None of 16
Why he’s here
Standing classification populates when honors, Heisman, and roster signals all align.
What moves him up
What moves him down
Accolade streams
Status—Awaiting tracker
Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 26.2 | 3.9 | 0.6 |
| Road5g | 30.2 | 3.8 | 1.0 |
Win vs Loss
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins11g | 30.0 | 3.8 | 0.9 |
| Losses2g | 15.5 | 4.4 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 38.3 | 4.3 | 0.9 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 15.5 | 3.3 | 0.7 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
43Mid-pack
Elite: rush tds (89th). Concern: yards / carry (8th).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · RB · 2024
Percentile Card
Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.
P4G5All FBS
Advanced Savant
Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.
wepa_rushing0.24Elite (≥p90) (n=178)
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
CJ DonaldsonOhio StateSeth McGowanKentucky· 77% simTae MeadowsTroy· 75% simAl-Jay HendersonBuffalo· 70% sim
Rush TDs
Receptions
Rec yards
Fumbles lost
Carries
Rush yards
Long run
Yards / carry
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Power Back
Short-yardage and goal-line specialist. Carries the load, owns the red zone.
RB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Anderson Castle’s 2025 season.
Anderson Castle
66%match
#2
Nicholas Singleton
NFL Rd 5
65%
#3
Thad Franklin
65%
#4
Jaren Mangham
61%
#5
Braylen Russell
60%
Matches Anderson on
Total rush EPA (college ability)
Receiving share
EPA / carry (adj)
Differs from Anderson on
Height (higher)
Weight (higher)
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Gaej Walker’s path through Western Kentucky.
Gaej Walker
98%match
#2
Andrew Body
96%
#3
Narii Gaither
96%
#4
Chuba Hubbard
All-Big 12NFL Rd 4
94%
#5
Greg McCrae
93%
Matches Gaej on
Yards per carry
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Nicholas Singleton's senior season at Penn State (2025).
Nicholas Singleton
72%match
All-Big TenNFL Rd 5
#2
Dylan McDuffie
All-MAC
65%
#3
Adam Randall
NFL Rd 5
67%
#4
Tucker Gleason
All-MAC
61%
#5
Jalen Macon
60%
Matches Nicholas on
Receiving share
EPA / carry (adj)
Weight
Differs from Nicholas on
Yards / reception (lower)
Height (higher)
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Day
Pass share
47.0%
408 pass / 461 run
Plays / game
62.1
14 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
4.9%
267 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025
1 coach2022
Ryan Day
Ohio State
2023
Ryan Day
Ohio State
2025
Ryan Day
Ohio State
Played his entire career under Ryan Day.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownMiami, FL
Height6'2"
Weight232 lb
Class4
PositionRB
Jersey12
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamOhio State
ConferenceBig Ten
Joined2025
Career arc4 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
No formal honors on the ledger yet
All-America, all-conference, player-of-the-week, watch-list, and postseason awards land here when they're earned. The absence is the signal: most players never collect formal honors, and that's its own kind of context.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No formal honors on the ledger yet. All-America, all-conference, weekly awards, watch lists, and postseason trophies land here when they’re earned. | ||||
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | West Virginia | RB4 | #2436 | #2621 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Big 12 |
| 2023 | West Virginia | RB4 | #214 | #264 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | Big 12 |
| 2022 | West Virginia | RB4 | #508 | #689 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big 12 |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | Big Ten | RB | 4 | No. 12 | 6-2 | 232 lb | Miami, FL |
| 2024 | West Virginia | Big 12 | RB | 4 | No. 12 | 6-2 | 232 lb | Miami, FL |
| 2023 | West Virginia | Big 12 | RB | 4 | No. 12 | 6-2 | 232 lb | Miami, FL |
| 2022 | West Virginia | Big 12 | RB | 4 | No. 12 | 6-2 | 232 lb | Miami, FL |