Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
2/27Inside-5 share
2 of the team's 27 inside-the-5 carries (7.4%).
Challen Faamatau
Challen Faamatau: RB · Maryland · #29.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Challen Faamatau
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series. Second year in the Maryland backfield. One game to point at: 71 rushing yards and 19 receiving yards against Ohio State — Week 6, 2021.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Built to take 20+ carries per game. Volume is the value.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Maryland in the news
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 7 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 30-24vs West Virginia | 1 | -5 | -5.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 62-0vs Howard | 6 | 31 | 5.2 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 4 | W 37-16vs Kent State | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 0 | 19 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-66@ No. 7 Ohio State | 9 | 71 | 7.9 | 0 | 30 | Season-high 71 yds |
| Wk 8 | L 16-34@ Minnesota | 7 | 37 | 5.3 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 9 | W 38-35vs Indiana | 21 | 44 | 2.1 | 2 | 9 | |
| Wk 10 | L 14-31vs No. 22 Penn State | 11 | 38 | 3.5 | 1 | 15 | |
| Total | 56 | 235 | 4.2 | 3 | 30 |
Signature game
Week 9 · 2021
W 38-35
vs Indiana
44 rush yds (21 car) · 2 TD · 1 rec · 37 yds
Edged out Indiana at home in a shootout.
With T. Tagovailoa — 419 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 83.7 · R. Jarrett — 5 rec · 88 yds
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 9 · Indiana · 2nd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +3.40Taulia Tagovailoa pass complete to Challen Faamatau for 37 yds to the Ind 35 for a
- Week 9 · Indiana · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA −3.21Challen Faamatau run for a loss of 1 yard to the Ind 28
- Week 6 · Ohio State · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA +2.53Challen Faamatau run for 30 yds to the OhSt 11 for a
- Week 6 · Ohio State · 3rd and 6 · Q4 · EPA +2.31Challen Faamatau run for 8 yds to the Mary 49 for a
- Week 9 · Indiana · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA −1.69Challen Faamatau run for a loss of 3 yards to the Mary 38
- Week 1 · West Virginia · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA −1.64Challen Faamatau run for a loss of 5 yards to the Mary 30
4 more plays
- Week 8 · Minnesota · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +1.40Challen Faamatau run for 6 yds to the Mary 42 for a
- Week 9 · Indiana · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.28Challen Faamatau run for 9 yds to the Ind 48
- Week 10 · Penn State · 1st and 2 · Q2 · EPA +1.21Challen Faamatau run for 2 yds for a TD, (Joseph Petrino PAT MISSED)
- Week 10 · Penn State · 3rd and 2 · Q3 · EPA +1.21Challen Faamatau run for 7 yds to the PnSt 36 for a
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
49 of 56 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
43%49 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds22%of carries
11 carries
Grind
1–3 yds41%of carries
20 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds27%of carries
13 carries
Explosive
10+ yds10%of carries
5 carries
6 of 9 (67%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go)
4.2 yds/carry on 56 carries · 10% explosive (10+ yds) · 43% success rate.
Teams and coaches
2 seasons under Mike Locksley — 9-9 over that span.
2020Maryland2-3HC: Mike Locksley · Balanced, slow tempo
2021Maryland7-6HC: Mike Locksley · Balanced, fast tempo
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 25.4 | 5.0 | 0.6 |
| Road2g | 54.0 | 6.6 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 29.0 | 6.8 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 39.7 | 3.6 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Locksley
Pass share
53.3%
489 pass / 428 run
Plays / game
76.4
12 games
Team sack rate
4.7%
512 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2021
56 carries and 7 catches in 7 games
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Three seasons at Maryland
- Dec 2022 Entered the transfer portal
- 2022 Maryland LocksleyYear 3 · on the roster, no stat line
- 2021 Maryland LocksleyYear 2 · 7 games
- 2020 Maryland LocksleyYear 1 · 1 game
Moves
- Entered the transfer portal from Maryland, Dec 7, 2022.
How it ended
Two seasons at Maryland, 239 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
2023
- Entered the portalfrom Maryland
Coaching lineage · 2020–2022
1 coach2020–2022
Maryland
Played every college season under Mike Locksley.