Elijah Young: RB · Western Kentucky · #3.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Elijah Young
Wins in space out of the backfield. The five seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Eli Drinkwitz and Tyson Helton. A game that shows it: 114 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards against Kennesaw State — Week 10, 2024.
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 11.9% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 16.1% of his carries. 10 carries for 18 yds vs Alabama; 15 for 114 vs Kennesaw State.
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
49.4% of carries overall (198/401) → 38.5% of Q4-with-lead carries (25/65) — 52.0% 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
7 of 11 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (63.6%). 4 of the team's 17 inside-the-5 carries (23.5%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Western Kentucky | 201 | 883 | 4.4 | 3 | 30 |
| 2023 | Western Kentucky | 104 | 490 | 4.7 | 3 | 64 |
| 2022 | Missouri | 19 | 93 | 4.9 | 0 | 22 |
| 2021 | Missouri | 37 | 162 | 4.4 | 1 | 32 |
| 2020 | Missouri | 10 | 78 | 7.8 | 0 | 35 |
| Career | 371 | 1,706 | 4.6 | 7 | 64 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Western Kentucky | 47 | 384 | 8.2 | 2 | 29 |
| 2023 | Western Kentucky | 20 | 231 | 11.6 | 3 | 72 |
| 2022 | Missouri | 8 | 39 | 4.9 | 0 | 11 |
| 2021 | Missouri | 11 | 64 | 5.8 | 1 | 11 |
| 2020 | Missouri | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 86 | 718 | 8.3 | 6 | 72 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 14 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-63@ No. 5 Alabama | 10 | 18 | 1.8 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 2 | W 31-0vs Eastern Kentucky | 13 | 52 | 4.0 | 2 | 10 | |
| Wk 3 | W 49-21@ Middle Tennessee | 10 | 27 | 2.7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 4 | W 26-21vs Toledo | 9 | 36 | 4.0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 5 | L 20-21@ Boston College | 21 | 85 | 4.0 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 7 | W 44-17vs UTEP | 16 | 60 | 3.8 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 8 | W 31-14@ Sam Houston | 23 | 97 | 4.2 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-14vs Kennesaw State | 15 | 114 | 7.6 | 0 | 20 | Season-high 114 yds |
| Wk 11 | W 41-28@ New Mexico State | 16 | 74 | 4.6 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 12 | L 7-12vs Louisiana Tech | 10 | 24 | 2.4 | 1 | 7 | |
| Wk 13 | L 21-38@ Liberty | 9 | 60 | 6.7 | 0 | 30 | |
| Wk 14 | W 19-17vs Jacksonville State | 19 | 91 | 4.8 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 15 | L 12-52@ Jacksonville State | 19 | 108 | 5.7 | 0 | 20 | |
 Bowl | L 17-27vs James Madison | 11 | 37 | 3.4 | 0 | 17 | |
| Total | 201 | 883 | 4.4 | 3 | 30 |
Week 14 · 2024
W 19-17
91 rush yds (19 car) · 7 rec · 78 yds · 1 TD
A close one, won by 2 at home.
With C. Maynard — 44.1 yards per punt · 7 punts · 4 inside the 20 · C. Veltkamp — 301 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 26.4
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
41%186 carriesFumble rate
0.5%1 of 201 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.4 yds/carry on 201 carries · 11% explosive (10+ yds) · 41% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 14 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 62.8 | 4.4 | 0.5 |
| Road7g | 67.0 | 4.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 45.0 | 3.4 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 81.1 | 5.1 | 0.1 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tyson Helton
Pass share
52.2%
469 pass / 430 run
Plays / game
64.2
14 games
Team sack rate
5.3%
506 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2024
201 carries, 47 catches and 1 pass attempt in 14 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #134 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Missouri and Western Kentucky, 1,706 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 46 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Eli Drinkwitz and Tyson Helton.
