Darrell Harding Jr.

#3 · WR · Sr. · Buffalo6′4″ · 222 lb · Winter Garden, FL

Darrell Harding Jr.: WR · Buffalo · #3.

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Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Justin RobinsonMississippi State · 2023 · 85% season match
Elijah CanionLiberty · 2024 · 84% season match
Ja'Cyais CredleGeorgia State · 2021 · 80% season match
Savion WilliamsTCU · 2022 · 80% season match
Jerand BradleyTexas Tech · 2023 · 79% season match

Darrell Harding Jr.

WR · Buffalo · Sr · #3

Moves the chains on third down. Played for three head coaches at two programs in five seasons: David Cutcliffe, Mike Elko and Maurice Linguist. On tape: 62 receiving yards and 2 receptions against Eastern Michigan, Week 13, 2023.

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.

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2023	Buffalo	23	451	19.6	3	52
2022	Duke	3	21	7.0	0	8
2021	Duke	12	141	11.8	0	50
2020	Duke	11	143	13.0	0	31
2019	Duke	8	130	16.2	0	41
Career		57	886	15.5	3	52

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 17-38@ No. 19 Wisconsin	1	51	51.0	0	51
Wk 2	L 37-40vs Fordham	1	15	15.0	1	15
Wk 3	L 27-55vs Liberty	4	59	14.8	1	21
Wk 4	L 38-45@ Louisiana	2	18	9.0	0	12
Wk 5	W 13-10@ Akron	1	6	6.0	0	6
Wk 6	W 37-13vs Central Michigan	3	51	17.0	0	24
Wk 7	L 14-24vs Bowling Green	2	39	19.5	1	24
Wk 8	W 24-6@ Kent State	3	27	9.0	0	16
Wk 10	L 13-31@ Toledo	2	44	22.0	0	32
Wk 11	L 10-20vs Ohio	1	52	52.0	0	52
Wk 12	L 10-23@ Miami (OH)	1	27	27.0	0	27
Wk 13	L 11-24vs Eastern Michigan	2	62	31.0	0	37	Season-high 62 yds
Total		23	451	19.6	3	52

Signature game

Week 3 · 2023

L 27-55

vs Liberty

4 rec · 59 yds · 1 TD

With C. Snyder — 276 yds · 4 TD · 2 INT · QBR 36.5 · 20 rush yds (9 car) · A. Venneri — 42.8 yards per punt · 6 punts · 1 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 1 · Wisconsin · 3rd and 4 · Q1 · EPA +3.69Cole Snyder pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 51 yds to the WIS 8 for a
Week 12 · Miami (OH) · 4th and 4 · Q3 · EPA +3.49Tadd Barr pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 27 yds to the M-OH 22 for a
Week 11 · Ohio · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.41Cole Snyder pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 52 yds to the OHIO 23 for a
Week 13 · Eastern Michigan · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +3.03Cole Snyder pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 37 yds to the EMU 43 for a
Week 3 · Liberty · 3rd and 7 · Q2 · EPA +2.92Cole Snyder pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 20 yds to the BUFF 48 for a
Week 3 · Liberty · 2nd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.80Cole Snyder pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 21 yds to the LIB 41 for a

4 more plays

Week 3 · Liberty · 3rd and 5 · Q2 · EPA +2.79Cole Snyder pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 7 yds for a TD (Alex McNulty KICK)
Week 7 · Bowling Green · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.68CJ Ogbonna pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 24 yds for a TD (Alex McNulty KICK)
Week 2 · Fordham · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.56C.Snyder pass complete to FOR 15. Catch made by D.Harding at FOR 15. Gain of 15 yards. D.Harding for 15 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Week 7 · Bowling Green · 3rd and 4 · Q2 · EPA +2.45Cole Snyder pass complete to Darrell Harding Jr. for 15 yds to the BGSU 39 for a

Teams and coaches

2019Duke5-7HC: David Cutcliffe · Run-leaning

2020Duke2-9HC: David Cutcliffe · Balanced

2021Duke3-9HC: David Cutcliffe · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2022Duke9-4HC: Mike Elko · Run-leaning

2023Buffalo3-9HC: Maurice Linguist · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 44 (#262 of 497). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2023 season

44Rotational starter #262 of 497 · 2023?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2023 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: yards / catch (98th percentile). Strength: explosive rate (98th percentile). Concern: catch rate (19th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#12 / 639 · 98th pct

20.2

Explosive rate#12 / 639 · 98th pct

32.3%

EPA / target#52 / 639 · 92nd pct

1.25

TD rate#140 / 639 · 78th pct

9.7%

Catch rate#519 / 639 · 19th pct

71.0%

Box-score rates (5)

Yards / catch#20 / 566 · 96th pct

19.6

Long catch#221 / 566 · 60th pct

Rec yards#232 / 566 · 59th pct

451

Rec TDs#204 / 566 · 59th pct

Receptions#366 / 566 · 34th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2023. 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

2023 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	2.2	46.3	24.9	0.5
Road6g	1.7	28.8	20.7	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	2.0	34.1	18.9	0.4
Weeks 8+5g	1.8	42.4	28.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2023 season

Head Coach

Maurice Linguist

Pass share

47.8%

394 pass / 430 run

Plays / game

68.7

12 games

Team sack rate

4.4%

365 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

23 catches in 12 games

Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

44 · #262 of 497 WRs · 2023

Darrell Harding Jr.

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

23 catches in 12 games

Five seasons, two schools