Senior running back for USC. 2025: 258 rushing yards, 2 rushing TD, 8 catches.
5′10″ · 200 lb · Oceanside, CA
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
How he plays
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
Explosive rate: 99th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
rushing yards · 2025
2 TD · 5.9 per carry · 8 catches
Backed by 16 car · 173 yds · 2 TD -- top 1% rushing yards game. -- Best game: 52 rush yds, 2 TD, 13 rec yds, vs Georgia Southern
The play that turned itSwung Iowa State from 5% to 64% to win.TCU at Iowa State · 27-14
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 running back for USC. 2025: 258 rushing yards, 2 rushing TD, 8 catches.
Eli Sanders
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Across five seasons and three programs, three head coaches: Matt Campbell, Bronco Mendenhall and Lincoln Riley. 2024 brought the first one: All-Mountain West. One game to point at: 84 rush yds, 17 rec yds against Michigan State — Week 4, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The role got bigger.
The snaps went the other way.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
All-Mountain West mention (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Donte Williams → Lincoln Riley. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: explosive rate (99th percentile). Strength: success rate (90th percentile). Concern: carries (5th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
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).
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 42.2 | 6.5 | 0.5 |
| Road2g | 44.5 | 4.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 43.0 | 5.8 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
46.0%
97 pass / 114 run
Plays / game
70.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.0%
102 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | USC | 44 | 258 | 5.9 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | New Mexico | 147 | 1,064 | 7.2 | 9 | -- |
| 2023 | Iowa State | 102 | 477 | 4.7 | 4 | -- |
| 2022 | Iowa State | 48 | 187 | 3.9 | 0 | -- |
| 2021 | Iowa State | 9 | 29 | 3.2 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 350 | 2,015 | 5.8 | 15 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | USC | 8 | 126 | 15.8 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | New Mexico | 15 | 134 | 8.9 | 0 | -- |
| 2023 | Iowa State | 5 | 43 | 8.6 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | Iowa State | 7 | 51 | 7.3 | 0 | -- |
| 2021 | Iowa State | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 38 | 395 | 10.4 | 2 | -- |
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 6 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 73-13vs Missouri State | 5 | 33 | 6.6 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 2 | W 59-20vs Georgia Southern | 8 | 52 | 6.5 | 2 | 19 | |
| Wk 3 | W 33-17@ Purdue | 10 | 75 | 7.5 | 0 | 20 | |
| Wk 4 | W 45-31vs Michigan State | 13 | 84 | 6.5 | 0 | 18 | Season-high 84 yds |
| Wk 5 | L 32-34@ Illinois | 8 | 14 | 1.8 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 7 | W 31-13vs Michigan | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 44 | 258 | 5.8 | 2 | 20 |
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
CFB Index positional classification
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
4 of the team's 26 inside-the-5 carries (15.4%).
2026 Outlook
USC
2026 Depth chart
Returning starter
Running back · USC
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
USC · Last season: 9-4 (AP #16) · Talent rank #9 · 2026 recruiting class #1
Player DNA
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to OJ Arnold’s 2023 season.
Matches OJ on
Differs from OJ on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Dontae McMillan's graduate season at Eastern Michigan (2025).
Matches Dontae on
Differs from Dontae on
Player DNA
Heisman Trajectory · 2025
Peaked at #202 this season.