Usage / Role
3%
Rotational offensive role
lowfeatured
Player Dossier
2015-2016Illinois
Desmond Cain
WR • 5'11" • Delray Beach, FL, USA
Reliable chain-moverPossession profile
Desmond Cain reads as a reliable chain-mover based on recent role and receiving efficiency.
Impact Production
29
Developing production for a receiver
lowelite
Reliability
31
Sporadic game-to-game production
lowhigh
Star Power
34
Limited ceiling signals so far
limitedstar
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by Season Value: 2015 Regular Season · Illinois
1516
Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Unique Seasons
- 2
- Program Path
- Illinois
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Ohio State
Player Story
Desmond Cain built his college career from 2015 through 2016 as a wide receiver from Delray Beach, FL wearing No. 86, spending time with Illinois. The clearest part of Desmond Cain's career was his receiving role: 58...
Read the storyDesmond Cain, WR. Best season Best season by Season Value: 2015 Regular Season · Illinois. Desmond Cain reads as a reliable chain-mover based on recent role and receiving efficiency.
Stat Footprint
Career production snapshot
- Receiving yards
- 553
- Receptions
- 58
- Touchdowns
- 2
Quick Answers
Desmond Cain quick answers
- Latest team and position
- Illinois · WR
- Career Receiving Yards
- 553
- Tracked sample
- 2 unique seasons · 2 entries · 15 games
- Best season
- 2015 Regular Season · Illinois
- Top game
- Ohio State
- Latest roster
- No. 86 · Class 2016
- 2016 Receiving yards rank
- 61 receiving yards · WR 709th (top 73%) · Big Ten 118th (top 57%) · National 1,128th (top 59%)
Season Ledger
Crawlable season-by-season stats
| Season | Team | Games | Rec | Rec Yds | TD | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Regular Season | Illinois | 12 | 53 | 492 | 1 | 72.8 |
| 2016 Regular Season | Illinois | 3 | 5 | 61 | 1 | 45.2 |
Related Context
Keep exploring Desmond Cain
Desmond Cain played WR for Illinois. Across 2 tracked seasons, Desmond Cain recorded 5 rushing yards, 553 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns. His top tracked season came in 2015 with Illinois.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2015 Regular Season
Illinois paired 492 primary output with 65.9 efficiency.
Supporting note
2016 Regular Season role shape
target-driven usage with 67.8 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value cooled off
2016 Regular Season fell back from the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: Murray State
Win with an explosive receiving profile. It landed in the 100th percentile of the selected season.
Analysis workspace
Season Workbench
Filter the strongest season sample, inspect game-level shape, and then drop into the full log without losing the story of the year.
Season Explorer
Understand the selected season before dropping into the full game log.
2016 Regular Season · Illinois
Games
3
Receiving Yards / G
20.3
Efficiency
67.8
Usage
11.3
Consistency
63
Best Game by takeover score
Murray State
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Active game
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Game-by-Game Trend
Follow how the selected stat changes from one game to the next. Spikes mark standout outings, while dips show quieter weeks.
Chronological game order.
Game by game trend chart. Murray State: 37. North Carolina: 7. Michigan State: 17
Volume vs Efficiency
Each dot is a game. Farther right means the player carried more of the workload, and higher means they were more efficient with those chances.
Low volumeHigh quality
High volumeHigh quality
Low volumeLower quality
High volumeLower quality
Volume on the x-axis, quality on the y-axis.
Volume versus efficiency scatter chart. Murray State: 2 by 100. North Carolina: 1 by 46.7. Michigan State: 2 by 56.7
Split Comparison
Compare how this player performed across different situations. "Games" shows how many matchups are included in each split.
Wins27 · Games = 2 · +20 vs Losses
Losses7 · Games = 1 · -20 vs Wins
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
3 games
Featured metric
Receiving Yards
Top game by takeover score
Murray State
Best efficiency game
100 vs Murray State
Player Story
Desmond Cain story
Desmond Cain built his college career from 2015 through 2016 as a wide receiver from Delray Beach, FL wearing No. 86, spending time with Illinois. The clearest part of Desmond Cain's career was his receiving role: 58 catches, 553 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns, and 5 rushing yards across 15 career games in the available record. His largest box-score season came in 2015 with Illinois. Those numbers show where he fit, how often the ball or action found him, and how his role developed over time.
The value of the career arc is that it connects production to role, not just a name on a roster. His career also includes 5 rushing yards, giving the story more than a single-category snapshot. With 15 career games in the available record, his career has enough shape to show both opportunity and production across Illinois.
The arc is straightforward: Desmond Cain moved through the depth chart, found a larger role, and turned that opportunity into production that can be understood through standard football numbers.
Career Arc
Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.
- 1
Illinois
2015-2016
Opening stop
Season Value Progression
20152016
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Regular Season | Illinois | 492 | 65.9 | 18 | — |
| 2016 Regular Season | Illinois | 61 | 67.8 | 11.3 | -431 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
vs Ohio State
Week 11 · L 3-28 · Conference game
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
102
Receiving Yards
89.3 takeover
102 receiving yards with a 68 efficiency score.
#2
@ Purdue
Week 10 · W 48-14 · Conference game
74
Receiving Yards
83.3 takeover
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
74 receiving yards with a 82.2 efficiency score.
#3
vs Murray State
Week 1 · W 52-3
37
Receiving Yards
80.6 takeover
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
37 receiving yards with a 100 efficiency score.
#4
vs Northwestern
Week 13 · L 14-24 · Conference game
52
Receiving Yards
68.1 takeover
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
52 receiving yards with a 86.7 efficiency score.
#5
vs Middle Tennessee
Week 4 · W 27-25
48
Receiving Yards
57.7 takeover
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
48 receiving yards with a 45.7 efficiency score.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by Season Value
2015 Regular Season · Illinois
492 primary output · 65.9 efficiency · 18 usage
72.8
#2
2016 Regular Season · Illinois
45.2
61 primary · 67.8 efficiency · 11.3 usage
Milestones
1
100+ receiving yards
1
8+ catch outings
0
2+ TD games
Next best actions
Keep exploring Desmond Cain
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