Usage / Role
29%
Rotational offensive role
lowfeatured
Player Dossier
2011-2014Illinois
Donovonn Young
RB • 6'0" • Houston, TX, USA
Balanced backfield optionSteady chain mover
Donovonn Young leans balanced backfield option traits and 42.5 efficiency.
Impact Production
48
Developing production for a back
lowelite
Reliability
70
Reliable weekly contributor
lowhigh
Star Power
42
Limited ceiling signals so far
limitedstar
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by Season Value: 2012 Regular Season · Illinois
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Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Unique Seasons
- 4
- Program Path
- Illinois
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Indiana
Player Story
Donovonn Young built his college career from 2011 through 2014 as a running back from Houston, TX wearing No. 5, spending time with Illinois. The clearest part of Donovonn Young's career was his backfield work: 1,777...
Read the story3★
- Committed To
- Illinois
- Commit Date
- Jan 1, 2011
Donovonn Young, RB. Best season Best season by Season Value: 2012 Regular Season · Illinois. Donovonn Young leans balanced backfield option traits and 42.5 efficiency.
Stat Footprint
Career production snapshot
- Scrimmage yards
- 2,099
- Rushing yards
- 1,777
- Receiving yards
- 322
- Touchdowns
- 19
Quick Answers
Donovonn Young quick answers
- Latest team and position
- Illinois · RB
- Career Scrimmage Yards
- 2,099
- Tracked sample
- 4 unique seasons · 6 entries · 48 games
- Best season
- 2012 Regular Season · Illinois
- Top game
- Indiana
- Recruit profile
- 3-star · Katy · Illinois
- High school pipeline
- Katy · 61 FBS recruits · 4 drafted players
- Latest roster
- No. 5 · Class 2014
- 2014 Scrimmage yards rank
- 471 scrimmage yards · RB 188th (top 35%) · Big Ten 53rd (top 21%) · National 506th (top 22%)
Season Ledger
Crawlable season-by-season stats
| Season | Team | Games | Scrimmage | Rush Yds | Rec Yds | TD | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 Postseason | Illinois | 12 | 44 | 45 | -1 | 0 | 50.9 |
| 2011 Regular Season | Illinois | 12 | 422 | 406 | 16 | 6 | 50.9 |
| 2012 Regular Season | Illinois | 12 | 743 | 571 | 172 | 4 | 68.2 |
| 2013 Regular Season | Illinois | 11 | 419 | 376 | 43 | 3 | 50.6 |
| 2014 Postseason | Illinois | 13 | 16 | 18 | -2 | 1 | 54.9 |
| 2014 Regular Season | Illinois | 13 | 455 | 361 | 94 | 5 | 54.9 |
Related Context
Keep exploring Donovonn Young
Donovonn Young played RB for Illinois. Across 4 tracked seasons, Donovonn Young recorded 1,777 rushing yards, 322 receiving yards, and 19 touchdowns. His top tracked season came in 2012 with Illinois.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2012 Regular Season
Illinois paired 743 primary output with 42.7 efficiency.
Supporting note
2014 Postseason role shape
backfield-heavy usage with 42.5 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value stayed steady
2014 Regular Season tracked close to the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: Penn State
Win with 74 yards from scrimmage and efficient touch value. 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.
2014 Postseason · Illinois
Games
13
Scrimmage Yards / G
36.2
Efficiency
42.5
Usage
16.6
Consistency
66.3
Best Game by takeover score
Penn State
Hover a point or expand a game row to keep the active game context visible here.
Active game
Hover over a point
Hover or select a game to keep its context visible here without the page shifting around.
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. Louisiana Tech: 16. Youngstown State: 48. Western Kentucky: 47. Washington: 30. Texas State: 62. Nebraska: 24. Purdue: 34. Wisconsin: 6. Minnesota: 32. Ohio State: 22. Iowa: 25. Penn State: 74. Northwestern: 51
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. Louisiana Tech: 8 by 27.1. Youngstown State: 12 by 43.8. Western Kentucky: 14 by 35. Washington: 6 by 52.1. Texas State: 13 by 33.1. Nebraska: 6 by 37.9. Purdue: 10 by 36.7. Wisconsin: 3 by 20.8. Minnesota: 4 by 83.3. Ohio State: 8 by 28.6. Iowa: 5 by 52.1. Penn State: 16 by 46.9. Northwestern: 11 by 54.7
Split Comparison
Compare how this player performed across different situations. "Games" shows how many matchups are included in each split.
Wins52.3 · Games = 6 · +29.9 vs Losses
Losses22.4 · Games = 7 · -29.9 vs Wins
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
13 games
Featured metric
Scrimmage Yards
Top game by takeover score
Penn State
Best efficiency game
83.3 vs Minnesota
| Result | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 12/26 | @ Louisiana Tech | L 18-35 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 2 |
| Sat 11/29 | @ Northwestern | W 47-33 | 9 | 51 | 5.70 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.6 |
| Sat 11/22 | vs Penn State | W 16-14 | 14 | 62 | 4.40 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 4.6 |
| Sat 11/15 | vs Iowa | L 14-30 | 5 | 25 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 5 |
| Sun 11/2 | @ Ohio State | L 14-55 | 8 | 22 | 2.80 | 1 | — | — | 2.8 |
| Sat 10/25 | vs Minnesota | W 28-24 | 3 | 35 | 11.70 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 8 |
| Sat 10/11 | @ Wisconsin | L 28-38 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
| Sat 10/4 | vs Purdue | L 27-38 | 5 | 18 | 3.60 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 3.4 |
| Sun 9/28 | @ Nebraska | L 14-45 | 5 | 17 | 3.40 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| Sat 9/20 | vs Texas State | W 42-35 | 9 | 19 | 2.10 | 1 | 4 | 43 | 4.8 |
| Sat 9/13 | @ Washington | L 19-44 | 4 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| Sat 9/6 | vs Western Kentucky | W 42-34 | 14 | 47 | 3.40 | 1 | — | — | 3.4 |
| Sat 8/30 | vs Youngstown State | W 28-17 | 9 | 39 | 4.30 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 4 |
Player Story
Donovonn Young story
Donovonn Young built his college career from 2011 through 2014 as a running back from Houston, TX wearing No. 5, spending time with Illinois. The clearest part of Donovonn Young's career was his backfield work: 1,777 rushing yards, 405 carries, 18 rushing touchdowns, and 322 receiving yards across 48 career games in the available record. His largest box-score season came in 2012 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 322 receiving yards and 82 return yards, giving the story more than a single-category snapshot. With 48 career games in the available record, his career has enough shape to show both opportunity and production across Illinois.
The arc is straightforward: Donovonn Young 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
2011-2014
Opening stop
Season Value Progression
201120112012201320142014
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 Postseason | Illinois | 466 | 46.1 | 12.9 | — |
| 2011 Regular Season | Illinois | 466 | 46.1 | 12.9 | 0 |
| 2012 Regular Season | Illinois | 743 | 42.7 | 25.5 | 277 |
| 2013 Regular Season | Illinois | 419 | 38.1 | 15.8 | -324 |
| 2014 Postseason | Illinois | 471 | 42.5 | 16.6 | 52 |
| 2014 Regular Season | Illinois | 471 | 42.5 | 16.6 | 0 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
vs Indiana
Week 9 · L 17-31 · Conference game
Loss driven by a workhorse rushing load.
145
Scrimmage Yards
86.7 takeover
145 scrimmage yards and 34.7 usage.
#2
vs Western Michigan
Week 4 · W 23-20
105
Scrimmage Yards
79.1 takeover
Win with 105 yards from scrimmage and efficient touch value.
105 scrimmage yards and 18.8 usage.
#3
vs Penn State
Week 13 · W 16-14 · Conference game
74
Scrimmage Yards
77.7 takeover
Win with 74 yards from scrimmage and efficient touch value.
74 scrimmage yards and 30.2 usage.
#4
vs Miami (OH)
Week 5 · W 50-14
80
Scrimmage Yards
75.3 takeover
Win with 80 yards from scrimmage and efficient touch value.
80 scrimmage yards and 17.5 usage.
#5
@ Northwestern
Week 13 · L 14-50 · Conference game
86
Scrimmage Yards
74.7 takeover
Loss with 86 yards from scrimmage and efficient touch value.
86 scrimmage yards and 33.3 usage.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by Season Value
2012 Regular Season · Illinois
743 primary output · 42.7 efficiency · 25.5 usage
68.2
#2
2014 Postseason · Illinois
54.9
471 primary · 42.5 efficiency · 16.6 usage
#3
2014 Regular Season · Illinois
54.9
471 primary · 42.5 efficiency · 16.6 usage
Milestones
2
100+ rush yards
0
150+ scrimmage yards
2
2+ TD games
Next best actions
Keep exploring Donovonn Young
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