#12

Donnie Gray

Senior wide receiver for Massachusetts. 2025: 27 catches, 260 receiving yards.

WR · Massachusetts · Sr. · #12

6′2″ · 210 lb · New Haven, CT

CFB Index 33 · #386 of 485 WRsHigh confidenceReturning to Massachusetts for 2026

The numbers

260

receiving yards · 2025

27 catches · 9.6 per catch

Best game: 2 rec, 27 yds, at Iowa

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 wide receiver for Massachusetts. 2025: 27 catches, 260 receiving yards.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Northwestern in 2021.
Transferred from Northwestern to Massachusetts in 2025.

His career, year by year

How he plays

Moves the chains on third down.

EPA / target: 32nd percentile.

The full scouting read

Donnie Gray

WR · Massachusetts · Sr · #12

Moves the chains on third down. Three head coaches in four seasons, at two different programs. One game to point at: 60 rec yds, 7 rush yds against Kent State — Week 7, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
head-coach lineage
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2022Northwestern1-11HC: Pat Fitzgerald · Balanced

2023Northwestern8-5HC: David Braun · Run-leaning

2024Northwestern4-8HC: David Braun · Balanced, slow tempo

2025Massachusetts0-12HC: Joe Harasymiak · Balanced

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

33Below cohort / limited sample #386 of 485?

High confidence12 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: catch rate (11th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

EPA / target#547 / 798 · 32nd pct

0.29

Yards / catch#599 / 798 · 25th pct

9.4

TD rate#507 / 798 · 18th pct

0.0%

Explosive rate#691 / 798 · 13th pct

3.9%

Catch rate#709 / 798 · 11th pct

54.9%

Box-score rates (7)

Rush yards#99 / 287 · 65th pct

Receptions#320 / 558 · 41st pct

Rush TDs#67 / 287 · 39th pct

Long catch#367 / 558 · 33rd pct

Rec yards#398 / 558 · 29th pct

260

Yards / catch#479 / 558 · 14th pct

9.6

Rec TDs#482 / 558 · 7th 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 this season. 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).

Situational

Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)

Third-down role

27%14 of his 51 targets came on third down · Receiver median is 24%

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	2.5	22.5	9.4	0.0
Road5g	2.4	25.0	9.5	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.3	30.5	13.0	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	2.6	15.4	5.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Joe Harasymiak

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Rotational

Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

33 · #386 of 485 WRs

Three-star recruit. Now #386 at the position.

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-MAC

Based on 2025: #28 of 38 Mid-American WRs

How the All-MAC estimate is computed

15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Massachusetts	27	260	9.6	--
2024	Northwestern	2	20	10.0	--
2023	Northwestern	1	4	4.0	--
2022	Northwestern	1	18	18.0	--
Career		31	302	9.7	--

Season	Team
2025	Massachusetts	4	24	--	--	--
2024	Northwestern	--	--	--	--	--
2023	Northwestern	--	--	--	--	--
2022	Northwestern	--	--	--	--	--
Career		4	24	--	--	--

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 2 · Bryant · 3&10 · Q4 · EPA +3.80Grant Jordan pass complete to Donnie Gray for 41 yds to the BRY 14 for a 1ST down
Week 2 · Bryant · 3&8 · Q1 · EPA +2.87Brandon Rose pass complete to Donnie Gray for 14 yds to the BRY 39 for a 1ST down
Week 5 · Missouri · 3&10 · Q2 · EPA +2.37AJ Hairston pass complete to Donnie Gray for 15 yds to the MASS 40 for a 1ST down
Week 7 · Kent State · 2&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.35AJ Hairston pass complete to Donnie Gray for 14 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Week 7 · Kent State · 2&17 · Q3 · EPA +2.17AJ Hairston pass complete to Donnie Gray for 19 yds to the MASS 37 for a 1ST down
Week 12 · Northern Illinois · 3&7 · Q3 · EPA +2.13(02:02) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 B.Rose pass complete short right to #12 D.Gray caught at UMass39, for 13 yards to the UMass39 (#38 A.Williams), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
Week 3 · Iowa · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +1.98AJ Hairston pass complete to Donnie Gray for 22 yds to the MASS 47 for a 1ST down
Week 12 · Northern Illinois · 3&4 · Q2 · EPA +1.86(10:57) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 B.Rose pass complete short left to #12 D.Gray caught at UMass35, for 9 yards to the UMass40 (#3 J.Finley; #17 F.Maciorowski), 1ST DOWN
Week 14 · Bowling Green · 2&10 · Q3 · EPA +1.79(00:02) No Huddle-Shotgun #9 G.Jordan pass complete short right to #12 D.Gray caught at UMass38, for 12 yards to the UMass38 (#26 J.Andrews), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
Week 1 · Temple · 3&5 · Q4 · EPA +1.49Brandon Rose pass complete to Donnie Gray for 5 yds to the MASS 35 for a 1ST down

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 10-42vs Temple	1	5	5.0	5
Wk 2	L 26-27vs Bryant	2	55	27.5	41
Wk 3	L 7-47@ Iowa	2	27	13.5	22
Wk 5	L 6-42@ Missouri	2	28	14.0	15
Wk 6	L 3-21vs Western Michigan	1	8	8.0	8
Wk 7	L 6-42@ Kent State	6	60	10.0	19	Season-high 60 yds
Wk 8	L 21-28vs Buffalo	1	2	2.0	2
Wk 9	L 13-38@ Central Michigan	1	7	7.0	7
Wk 11	L 10-44@ Akron	1	3	3.0	3
Wk 12	L 3-45vs Northern Illinois	7	41	5.9	13
Wk 14	L 14-45vs Bowling Green	3	24	8.0	12
Total		27	260	9.4	41

How he plays

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

CFB Index positional classification

2026 Outlook

Massachusetts

Preseason read · May 27

2026 Depth chart

Returning starter

Wide receiver · Massachusetts

Returning around him

-57% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
Transfer portal: +2 net (21 in / 19 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Massachusetts · Last season: 0-12 · Talent rank #128 · 2026 recruiting class #116

DNA match

Player DNA

Possession Receiver

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Julian Ortega-Jones’s 2022 season.

Julian Ortega-Jones

79%match

Texas State · 2022

Isaiah Washington

Rutgers · 2021

79%

John Jackson III

Nevada · 2023

79%

Casey Washington

Illinois · 2022

NFL Rd 6

78%

Blaine Green

Oklahoma State · 2023

77%

Matches Julian on

Height

Total EPA (college ability)

TD rate

Differs from Julian on

Weight (higher)

Class year (higher)

Through 1 college season, his career arc tracks closest to Ryan Miller’s path through Furman.

Ryan Miller

97%match

Furman · 2022

Cyrus Wallace

Idaho State · 2023

93%

Eric Holley

Toledo · 2025

92%

Landon Sims

Hawai'i · 2025

92%

Kylon Harris

Stephen F. Austin · 2025

92%

Matches Ryan on

Yards per reception

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Braydon Bennett's senior season at Coastal Carolina (2023).

Braydon Bennett

80%match

Coastal Carolina · 2023

Elijah Tau-Tolliver

Michigan State · 2025

80%

Jackson Canaan

San José State · 2025

77%

Nicholas Cenacle

Hawai'i · 2025

77%

Jeremiah Noga

Washington State · 2025

76%

Matches Braydon on

Total EPA (college ability)

Weight

Height

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

2021

202511 games

2025 snapshot

Situational

Splits & context

Awards

Rotational

Career stats

Signature plays

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Possession Receiver