Ellis Merriweather: RB · Massachusetts · #7.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ellis Merriweather
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series. Played for three head coaches in three seasons at Massachusetts. On tape: 122 rushing yards and 14 receiving yards against Arkansas State, Week 11, 2022.
Play style
Built to take 20+ carries per game. Volume is the value.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 17.9% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 14.1% of his carries. 10 carries for 21 yds vs Buffalo; 29 for 122 vs Arkansas State.
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
5 of 10 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (50.0%). 5 of the team's 20 inside-the-5 carries (25.0%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Massachusetts | 150 | 575 | 3.8 | 3 | 36 |
| 2021 | Massachusetts | 218 | 1,138 | 5.2 | 5 | 79 |
| 2020 | Massachusetts | 42 | 115 | 2.7 | 0 | 14 |
| Career | 410 | 1,828 | 4.5 | 8 | 79 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Massachusetts | 8 | 48 | 6.0 | 0 | 27 |
| 2021 | Massachusetts | 22 | 165 | 7.5 | 1 | 33 |
| 2020 | Massachusetts | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 |
| Career | 31 | 217 | 7.0 | 1 | 33 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 10 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 10-42@ Tulane | 11 | 36 | 3.3 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 2 | L 10-55@ Toledo | 17 | 54 | 3.2 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 3 | W 20-3vs Stony Brook | 20 | 76 | 3.8 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 4 | L 0-28@ Temple | 8 | 53 | 6.6 | 0 | 36 | |
| Wk 7 | L 7-34vs Buffalo | 10 | 21 | 2.1 | 1 | 13 | |
| Wk 9 | L 13-23vs New Mexico State | 23 | 84 | 3.7 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 10 | L 10-27@ UConn | 12 | 33 | 2.8 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 11 | L 33-35@ Arkansas State | 29 | 122 | 4.2 | 2 | 23 | Season-high 122 yds |
| Wk 12 | L 3-20@ Texas A&M | 15 | 47 | 3.1 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 13 | L 7-44vs Army | 5 | 49 | 9.8 | 0 | 17 | |
| Total | 150 | 575 | 3.8 | 3 | 36 |
Week 11 · 2022
L 33-35
122 rush yds (29 car) · 2 TD · 2 rec · 14 yds
With C. Kolodziey — 38.5 yards per punt · 4 punts · 2 inside the 20 · B. Olson — 178 yds · 1 TD · 2 INT · QBR 25.1
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
31%149 carriesFumble rate
2.0%3 of 150 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds3.8 yds/carry on 150 carries · 10% explosive (10+ yds) · 31% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 57.5 | 4.9 | 0.2 |
| Road6g | 57.5 | 3.9 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 48.0 | 3.8 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 67.0 | 4.7 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Don Brown
Pass share
35.0%
277 pass / 514 run
Plays / game
65.9
12 games
Team sack rate
7.4%
299 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2022
150 carries and 8 catches in 10 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #293 at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Massachusetts, 1,828 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 26 games over three seasons.
