De'Veon Smith: RB · Michigan · #4.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
De'Veon Smith
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. The three seasons at Michigan span two head coaches: Brady Hoke and Jim Harbaugh. On tape: 158 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD against Indiana, Week 12, 2016.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 21.7% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 20.0% of his carries. 5 carries for 11 yds vs Rutgers; 23 for 158 vs Indiana.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
Not actually a closer
33.0% of carries overall (179/543) → 16.8% of Q4-with-lead carries (22/131) — 90.9% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
8 of 12 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (66.7%). 17 of the team's 45 inside-the-5 carries (37.8%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2016 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 63-3vs Hawai'i | 6 | 27 | 4.5 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 2 | W 51-14vs UCF | 10 | 38 | 3.8 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-28vs Colorado | 11 | 87 | 7.9 | 1 | 42 | |
| Wk 4 | W 49-10vs Penn State | 12 | 107 | 8.9 | 1 | 39 | |
| Wk 5 | W 14-7vs No. 8 Wisconsin | 17 | 66 | 3.9 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 6 | W 78-0@ Rutgers | 5 | 11 | 2.2 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 8 | W 41-8vs Illinois | 18 | 76 | 4.2 | 1 | 17 | |
| Wk 9 | W 32-23@ Michigan State | 11 | 38 | 3.5 | 2 | 20 | |
| Wk 10 | W 59-3vs Maryland | 19 | 114 | 6.0 | 3 | 14 | 3 rushing TDs |
| Wk 11 | L 13-14@ Iowa | 12 | 28 | 2.3 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 12 | W 20-10vs Indiana | 23 | 158 | 6.9 | 2 | 39 | Season-high 158 yds |
| Wk 13 | L 27-30@ No. 2 Ohio State | 21 | 60 | 2.9 | 0 | 16 | |
 Bowl | L 32-33vs No. 10 Florida State | 16 | 36 | 2.3 | 0 | 13 | |
| Total | 181 | 846 | 4.7 | 10 | 42 |
Week 12 · 2016
W 20-10
vs Indiana
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
45%164 carriesFumble rate
0.6%1 of 181 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.7 yds/carry on 181 carries · 13% explosive (10+ yds) · 45% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2016 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 84.1 | 5.8 | 1.0 |
| Road4g | 34.2 | 2.7 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 53.1 | 4.8 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 79.0 | 4.3 | 1.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jim Harbaugh
Pass share
39.7%
370 pass / 563 run
Plays / game
71.8
13 games
Team sack rate
5.6%
393 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2016
181 carries and 16 catches in 13 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
How it ended
Three seasons at Michigan, 2,118 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 37 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2013–2016
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Brady Hoke → Jim Harbaugh. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
