Kelly Akharaiyi

#1 · WR · Sr. · Mississippi State6′1″ · 200 lb · Irving, TX

Kelly Akharaiyi: WR · Mississippi State · #1.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Alex BullockNebraska · 2023 · 81% season match
Dariyan WileyUL Monroe · 2023 · 80% season match
Kaedin RobinsonApp State · 2022 · 78% season match
Eli WoodVirginia · 2025 · 78% season match
Trell HarrisKent State · 2022 · 78% season match

Kelly Akharaiyi

WR · Mississippi State · Sr · #1

Moves the chains on third down. The three seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Dana Dimel and Jeff Lebby. The first one came in 2023: All-Conference USA. One game to point at: 72 receiving yards and 3 receptions against Georgia — Week 7, 2024.

Style of play

Play style

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

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Mississippi State in the news

Kamario Taylor out for seasonOct 27
Students rally for Nolan WellsOct 21
Billy Puckett named QB1The Clarion-Ledger Oct 17

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2024	Mississippi State	25	391	15.6	2	49
2023	UTEP	48	1,033	21.5	7	80
2022	UTEP	21	275	13.1	1	68
Career		94	1,699	18.1	10	80

Season	Team
2024	Mississippi State	--	--
2023	UTEP	1	7
2022	UTEP	1	−6
Career		2	1

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2024 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 2	L 23-30@ Arizona State	1	18	18.0	0	18
Wk 3	L 17-41vs Toledo	4	32	8.0	0	16
Wk 4	L 28-45vs Florida	3	56	18.7	0	28
Wk 5	L 13-35@ No. 1 Texas	1	18	18.0	0	18
Wk 7	L 31-41@ No. 5 Georgia	3	72	24.0	2	35	Season-high 72 yds
Wk 8	L 24-34vs No. 14 Texas A&M	3	45	15.0	0	22
Wk 9	L 25-58vs Arkansas	3	15	5.0	0	8
Wk 10	W 45-20vs Massachusetts	1	17	17.0	0	17
Wk 13	L 20-39vs Missouri	3	64	21.3	0	49
Wk 14	L 14-26@ No. 15 Ole Miss	3	54	18.0	0	36
Total		25	391	15.6	2	49

Signature game

Week 7 · 2024

L 31-41

at Georgia

3 rec · 72 yds · 2 TD

With M. Van Buren Jr. — 306 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 73.0 · 15 rush yds (5 car) · N. Barr-Mira — 44.6 yards per punt · 5 punts · 3 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 7 · Georgia · 3rd and 8 · Q4 · EPA +4.34Michael Van Buren Jr. pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 35 yds for a TD (Kyle Ferrie KICK)
Week 7 · Georgia · 2nd and 24 · Q2 · EPA +4.17Michael Van Buren Jr. pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 24 yds for a TD (Kyle Ferrie KICK)
Week 3 · Toledo · 3rd and 14 · Q3 · EPA +3.30Blake Shapen pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 16 yds to the TOL 31 for a
Week 13 · Missouri · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.25Michael Van Buren Jr. pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 49 yds to the MIZ 24 for a
Week 14 · Ole Miss · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.70Michael Van Buren Jr. pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 36 yds to the MISS 33 for a
Week 9 · Arkansas · 4th and 5 · Q4 · EPA +2.06Michael Van Buren Jr. pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 7 yds to the MSST 37 for a

4 more plays

Week 8 · Texas A&M · 2nd and 8 · Q2 · EPA +2.05Michael Van Buren Jr. pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 14 yds to the TA&M 45 for a
Week 2 · Arizona State · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.95Blake Shapen pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 18 yds to the ASU 30 for a
Week 4 · Florida · 2nd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.79Michael Van Buren Jr. pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 28 yds to the FLA 4 for a
Week 5 · Texas · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.52Michael Van Buren Jr. pass complete to Kelly Akharaiyi for 18 yds to the MSST 40 for a

Teams and coaches

2022UTEP5-7HC: Dana Dimel · Run-leaning

2023UTEP3-9HC: Dana Dimel · Run-leaning

2024Mississippi State2-10HC: Jeff Lebby · Run-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 40 (#285 of 466). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2024 season

40Below cohort / limited sample #285 of 466 · 2024?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2024 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: yards / catch (87th percentile). Strength: epa / target (86th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#82 / 610 · 87th pct

16.1

EPA / target#84 / 610 · 86th pct

1.25

Explosive rate#107 / 610 · 82nd pct

22.2%

TD rate#247 / 610 · 59th pct

7.4%

Catch rate#330 / 610 · 45th pct

88.9%

Box-score rates (5)

Yards / catch#132 / 541 · 75th pct

15.6

Long catch#268 / 541 · 50th pct

Rec yards#278 / 541 · 49th pct

391

Rec TDs#275 / 541 · 41st pct

Receptions#324 / 541 · 39th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

98th → 86th percentile

Explosive rate

98th → 82nd percentile

Catch rate

45th → 45th percentile

TD rate

89th → 59th percentile

Yards / catch

99th → 87th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2024. 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

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2024 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	2.8	38.2	14.2	0.0
Road4g	2.0	40.5	19.5	0.5

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	2.4	39.2	17.3	0.4
Weeks 8+5g	2.6	39.0	15.3	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2024 season

Head Coach

Jeff Lebby

Pass share

46.9%

367 pass / 416 run

Plays / game

65.2

12 games

Team sack rate

9.5%

400 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2024

25 catches in 10 games

Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

40 · #285 of 466 WRs · 2024

Two-star recruit. Now #285 at the position.

Kelly Akharaiyi

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Mississippi State in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

25 catches in 10 games

Three seasons, two schools

Moves

2022 9 games

2023 11 games

2024 10 games