Anthony Sambucci

#5 · WR · Sr. · Western Michigan6′1″ · 190 lb · Lemont, IL

Anthony Sambucci: WR · Western Michigan · #5.

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Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

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Anthony Sambucci

WR · Western Michigan · Sr · #5

Moves the chains on third down. Played for two head coaches in five seasons at Western Michigan. The first one came in 2023: All-MAC. One game to point at: 103 receiving yards and 4 receptions against Bethune-Cookman — Week 3, 2024.

Style of play

Play style

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

Fans

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

Western Michigan in the news

WMU Board approves Asylum Lake transferNov 2

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2024	Western Michigan	34	412	12.1	3	54
2023	Western Michigan	21	318	15.1	5	64
2022	Western Michigan	20	276	13.8	1	44
2021	Western Michigan	--	--	--	--	--
2020	Western Michigan	--	--	--	--	--
Career		75	1,006	13.4	9	64

Season	Team
2024	Western Michigan	--	24	7
2023	Western Michigan	2	--	16
2022	Western Michigan	--	--	15
2021	Western Michigan	--	--	--
2020	Western Michigan	--	--	--
Career		2	24	38

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2024 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 14-28@ Wisconsin	2	12	6.0	0	12
Wk 2	L 0-56@ No. 2 Ohio State	3	41	13.7	0	19
Wk 3	W 59-31vs Bethune-Cookman	4	103	25.8	1	54	Season-high 103 yds
Wk 5	L 20-27@ Marshall	4	56	14.0	0	26
Wk 6	W 45-42@ Ball State	9	74	8.2	1	22
Wk 8	W 48-41@ Buffalo	3	33	11.0	0	18
Wk 11	L 28-42vs Northern Illinois	2	34	17.0	0	17
Wk 12	L 13-31@ Bowling Green	2	22	11.0	0	13
Wk 13	L 14-16@ Central Michigan	2	1	0.5	0	4
Bowl	L 23-30vs South Alabama	3	36	12.0	1	19
Total		34	412	12.1	3	54

Signature game

Week 3 · 2024

W 59-31

vs Bethune-Cookman

4 rec · 103 yds · 1 TD

Dominant 28-point win at home against Bethune-Cookman.

With H. Wolff — 305 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 87.1 · J. Nixon — 189 rush yds (17 car) · 2 TD · 1 rec · 11 yds

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 3 · Bethune-Cookman · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +4.18Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 54 yds for a TD (Luka Zurak KICK)
Week 1 · South Alabama · 3rd and 6 · Q4 · EPA +2.84Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 7 yds for a TD (Luka Zurak KICK)
Week 5 · Marshall · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.28Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 26 yds to the MRSH 44 for a
Week 5 · Marshall · 4th and 2 · Q4 · EPA +1.93Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 11 yds to the MRSH 24 for a
Week 6 · Ball State · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.89Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 22 yds to the BALL 43 for a
Week 8 · Buffalo · 3rd and 4 · Q4 · EPA +1.86Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 9 yds to the WMU 40 for a

4 more plays

Week 1 · South Alabama · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.67Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 19 yds to the USA 45 for a
Week 8 · Buffalo · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +1.61Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 18 yds to the WMU 43 for a
Week 1 · Wisconsin · 2nd and 6 · Q4 · EPA +1.53Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 12 yds to the WMU 41 for a
Week 2 · Ohio State · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.48Hayden Wolff pass complete to Anthony Sambucci for 16 yds to the OSU 49 for a

Teams and coaches

2020Western Michigan4-2HC: Tim Lester · Run-leaning

2021Western Michigan8-5HC: Tim Lester · Run-heavy, fast tempo

2022Western Michigan5-7HC: Tim Lester · Run-leaning

2023Western Michigan4-8HC: Lance Taylor · Run-leaning

2024Western Michigan6-7HC: Lance Taylor · Run-leaning, slow tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 43 (#248 of 466). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2024 season

43Rotational starter #248 of 466 · 2024?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2024 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Concern: explosive rate (20th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

TD rate#219 / 610 · 64th pct

7.9%

Catch rate#243 / 610 · 60th pct

92.1%

Yards / catch#267 / 610 · 56th pct

12.3

EPA / target#297 / 610 · 51st pct

0.89

Explosive rate#489 / 610 · 20th pct

7.9%

Box-score rates (5)

Long catch#207 / 541 · 61st pct

Rec TDs#193 / 541 · 57th pct

Receptions#231 / 541 · 56th pct

Rec yards#258 / 541 · 52nd pct

412

Yards / catch#334 / 541 · 38th pct

12.1

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

59th → 51st percentile

Explosive rate

58th → 20th percentile

Catch rate

25th → 60th percentile

TD rate

95th → 64th percentile

Yards / catch

77th → 56th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2024. 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

2024 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home2g	3.0	68.5	21.4	0.5
Road7g	3.6	34.1	9.2	0.1

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	4.2	53.7	13.3	0.5
Weeks 8+4g	2.2	22.5	9.9	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2024 season

Head Coach

Lance Taylor

Pass share

40.6%

323 pass / 473 run

Plays / game

61.2

13 games

Team sack rate

6.1%

329 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2024

34 catches and 2 pass attempts in 10 games

About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

43 · #248 of 466 WRs · 2024

Three-star recruit. Now #248 at the position.

Anthony Sambucci

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Western Michigan in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

34 catches and 2 pass attempts in 10 games

Five seasons at Western Michigan

2020

2023 9 games