Donavyn Lester: RB · UNLV · #4.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Donavyn Lester
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. On tape: 99 rushing yards and 3 rushing TD against Nevada, Week 7, 2023.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
17.7% of carries overall (89/503) → 17.5% of Q4-with-lead carries (17/97) — 70.6% 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
12 of 14 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (85.7%). 8 of the team's 32 inside-the-5 carries (25.0%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Las Vegas Review-Journal Oct 21Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | UNLV | 95 | 455 | 4.8 | 9 | 66 |
| Career | 95 | 455 | 4.8 | 9 | 66 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | UNLV | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 | 7 |
| Career | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 | 7 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 44-14vs Bryant | 8 | 29 | 3.6 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 2 | L 7-35@ No. 2 Michigan | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 3 | W 40-37vs Vanderbilt | 5 | 16 | 3.2 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 4 | W 45-28@ UTEP | 8 | 18 | 2.3 | 1 | 6 | |
| Wk 5 | W 44-20vs Hawai'i | 12 | 98 | 8.2 | 1 | 22 | |
| Wk 7 | W 45-27@ Nevada | 10 | 99 | 9.9 | 3 | 66 | Season-high 99 yds |
| Wk 8 | W 25-23vs Colorado State | 13 | 60 | 4.6 | 1 | 14 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-31@ Fresno State | 16 | 52 | 3.3 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 10 | W 56-14@ New Mexico | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 11 | W 34-14vs Wyoming | 8 | 30 | 3.8 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 12 | W 31-27@ Air Force | 4 | 8 | 2.0 | 1 | 3 | |
| Wk 13 | L 31-37vs San José State | 5 | 23 | 4.6 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 14 | L 20-44vs Boise State | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Total | 95 | 455 | 4.8 | 9 | 66 |
Week 7 · 2023
W 45-27
at Nevada
99 rush yds (10 car) · 3 TD
With J. Maiava — 259 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 88.5 · 32 rush yds (5 car) · M. Nichols — 42.2 yards per punt · 5 punts · 3 inside the 20
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%89 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.8 yds/carry on 95 carries · 13% explosive (10+ yds) · 45% success rate.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 37.4 | 4.9 | 0.4 |
| Road6g | 32.2 | 3.9 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 44.2 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 27.1 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Barry Odom
Pass share
43.1%
404 pass / 533 run
Plays / game
66.9
14 games
Team sack rate
5.2%
406 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
One season at UNLV, 455 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
