Donaven McCulley is a wide receiver who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Michigan.
McCulley beats you over the top. The five seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Tom Allen, Curt Cignetti and Biff Poggi. One game to point at: 112 receiving yards and 6 receptions against Wisconsin — Week 6, 2025.
Play style
Stretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play.
Money down · 3rd-down role
Catch rate says one thing, EPA says another
12 of 20 caught on third down (60.0%) — EPA/target 0.84 vs 0.41 elsewhere (7 conversions).
Catch rate is disclosed context only, never the gate — conversions and EPA/target are. Interception targets carry no attribution row at any source, so EPA/target here is unfixably, slightly inflated.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-17vs New Mexico | 4 | 31 | 7.8 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-24@ No. 18 Oklahoma | 3 | 91 | 30.3 | 0 | 44 | |
| Wk 3 | W 63-3vs Central Michigan | 3 | 36 | 12.0 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 4 | W 30-27@ Nebraska | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 6 | W 24-10vs Wisconsin | 6 | 112 | 18.7 | 1 | 33 | Season-high 112 yds |
| Wk 7 | L 13-31@ USC | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | 1 | 19 | |
| Wk 8 | W 24-7vs Washington | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-20@ Michigan State | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 10 | W 21-16vs Purdue | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 12 | W 24-22vs Northwestern | 4 | 59 | 14.8 | 0 | 26 | |
| Wk 13 | W 45-20@ Maryland | 2 | 46 | 23.0 | 1 | 24 | |
| Wk 14 | L 9-27vs No. 1 Ohio State | 3 | 46 | 15.3 | 0 | 26 | |
 Bowl | L 27-41vs No. 14 Texas | 4 | 54 | 13.5 | 0 | 19 | |
| Total | 39 | 588 | 15.1 | 3 | 44 |
Week 6 · 2025
W 24-10
vs Wisconsin
6 rec · 112 yds · 1 TD
With B. Underwood — 270 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 67.1 · 12 rush yds (5 car) · H. Hollenbeck — 49.3 yards per punt · 4 punts · 2 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
6523% of team targetsCatch rate
54%35 of 65 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
54% catch rate on 65 targets · 23% of the team's targets · 14% catch rate on 7 deep targets (20+ air yds).
Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)
Third-down role
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.2 | 41.8 | 11.5 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 2.4 | 44.8 | 17.7 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.7 | 57.4 | 15.5 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.2 | 31.0 | 12.9 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Biff Poggi
Pass share
40.9%
340 pass / 492 run
Plays / game
64.0
13 games
Team sack rate
5.8%
326 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #170 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #24 of 61 Big Ten WRs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
Played for two programs.
The snaps went the other way.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Tom Allen, Curt Cignetti and Sherrone Moore.
