#11

Makai Cope

Senior wide receiver for Missouri State. 2025: 20 catches, 269 receiving yards.

WR · Missouri State · Sr. · #11

6′3″ · 210 lb · Los Angeles, CA · Culver City High

CFB Index 31 · #398 of 485 WRsHigh confidenceReturning to Missouri State for 2026

Next upSat Sep 19 · 6:30 pm ETvs MarshallPlaster Sports ComplexMarshall by 3.5

How he plays

Moves the chains on third down.

Yards / catch: 71st percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

269

receiving yards · 2025

20 catches · 13.5 per catch

Best game: 3 rec, 39 yds, at Marshall

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 wide receiver for Missouri State. 2025: 20 catches, 269 receiving yards.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Utah in 2021.
Transferred from Utah to Sacramento State in 2024.

His career, year by year

Makai Cope

WR · Missouri State · Sr · #11

Moves the chains on third down. Makai Cope has played for two head coaches across two seasons and two programs. One game to point at: 52 rec yds, 2 receptions against Florida International — Week 10, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
head-coach lineage
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2022Utah10-4HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-leaning

2025Missouri State7-6HC: Nick Petrino · Balanced

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

31Below cohort / limited sample #398 of 485?

High confidence10 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: td rate (18th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#231 / 798 · 71st pct

13.4

Explosive rate#229 / 798 · 71st pct

13.3%

EPA / target#432 / 798 · 46th pct

0.39

Catch rate#425 / 798 · 45th pct

66.7%

TD rate#507 / 798 · 18th pct

0.0%

Box-score rates (5)

Yards / catch#237 / 558 · 57th pct

13.5

Rec yards#390 / 558 · 30th pct

269

Receptions#417 / 558 · 24th pct

Long catch#495 / 558 · 11th pct

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

10%3 of his 30 targets came on third down · Receiver median is 24%

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home4g	2.5	39.2	16.6	0.0
Road6g	1.7	18.7	11.7	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	2.0	19.6	9.6	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	2.0	34.2	17.6	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Casey Woods

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

31 · #398 of 485 WRs

Three-star recruit. Now #398 at the position.

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-Conference USA

Based on 2025: #42 of 52 Conference USA WRs

How the All-Conference USA 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	Missouri State	20	269	13.4	0	--
2022	Utah	7	75	10.7	1	--
Career		27	344	12.7	1	--

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 10 · Florida International · 3&11 · Q3 · EPA +3.62No Huddle-Shotgun #12 J.Clark pass complete deep right to #11 M.Cope caught at FIU45, for 27 yards to the FIU45, out of bounds at FIU45, 1ST DOWN, PENALTY FIU Offside declined
Week 11 · Liberty · 2&11 · Q4 · EPA +2.60(07:35) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 J.Clark pass complete short middle to #11 M.Cope caught at MOST36, for 21 yards to the MOST45 (#4 M.Pollard), 1ST DOWN
Week 3 · SMU · 1&15 · Q2 · EPA +1.90Jacob Clark pass complete to Makai Cope for 12 yds to the 50 yard line
Week 12 · UTEP · 3&8 · Q1 · EPA +1.85No Huddle-Shotgun #12 J.Clark pass complete short right to #11 M.Cope caught at UTEP21, for 19 yards to the UTEP17 (#13 T.Tillman), 1ST DOWN, PENALTY UTEP Holding declined
Week 2 · Marshall · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +1.73Jacob Clark pass complete to Makai Cope for 19 yds to the MOST 45 for a 1ST down
Week 14 · Louisiana Tech · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +1.71Shotgun #12 J.Clark pass complete short middle to #11 M.Cope caught at MSU41, for 19 yards to the MSU44 (#8 J.Fields; #11 C.Woods), 1ST DOWN
Week 1 · Arkansas State · 2&8 · Q2 · EPA +1.55(11:48) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 J.Clark pass complete short right to #11 M.Cope caught at MOST40, for 9 yards to the MOST40 (#9 A.Dickerson), 1ST DOWN
Week 13 · Kennesaw State · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.32(06:48) Shotgun #12 J.Clark pass complete short middle to #11 M.Cope caught at KSU50, for 9 yards to the MSU50 (#46 T.Christopher)
Week 14 · Louisiana Tech · 2&14 · Q1 · EPA +0.80No Huddle-Shotgun #12 J.Clark pass complete short middle to #11 M.Cope caught at MSU33, for 12 yards to the MSU33 (#7 J.Shelby Jr.)
Week 3 · SMU · 4&5 · Q3 · EPA -0.76Jacob Clark pass complete to Makai Cope for 4 yds to the SMU 45

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 13-73@ USC	1	6	6.0	6
Wk 2	W 21-20@ Marshall	3	39	13.0	19
Wk 3	L 10-28vs SMU	3	26	8.7	12
Wk 7	W 22-20@ Middle Tennessee	1	14	14.0	14
Wk 10	W 28-21vs Florida International	2	52	26.0	27	Season-high 52 yds
Wk 11	W 21-17@ Liberty	1	21	21.0	21
Wk 12	W 38-24vs UTEP	3	48	16.0	21
Wk 13	L 34-41@ Kennesaw State	2	19	9.5	10
Wk 14	L 30-42vs Louisiana Tech	2	31	15.5	19
Bowl	L 28-34@ Arkansas State	2	13	6.5	9
Total		20	269	13.6	27

How he plays

Play style

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

CFB Index positional classification

2026 Outlook

Missouri State

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Wide receiver · Missouri State

Returning around him

31% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
Transfer portal: +8 net (19 in / 11 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Missouri State · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #119 · 2026 recruiting class #131

DNA match

Player DNA

Possession Receiver

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

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Will Pelissier’s 2024 season.

Will Pelissier

83%match

Wyoming · 2024

Eli Pancol

Duke · 2022

83%

Quinton Lane

Jacksonville State · 2023

82%

Darryle Simmons

Marshall · 2023

81%

Hal Presley

Baylor · 2023

81%

Matches Will on

Total EPA (college ability)

Yards / reception

Reception volume

Differs from Will on

EPA / play (adj) (lower)

Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Ryan Flournoy’s path through Southeast Missouri State.

Ryan Flournoy

100%match

Southeast Missouri State · 2023

NFL Rd 6

Ma'jon Wright

Arizona · 2020

96%

Ian Duarte

Idaho State · 2025

96%

Tru Edwards

Louisiana Tech · 2024

All-Conference USA

94%

Isaiah Washington

Rutgers · 2023

94%

Matches Ryan on

Yards per reception

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Caleb Snead's sophomore season at Liberty (2022).

Caleb Snead

87%match

Liberty · 2022

Bryan Thompson

Arizona State · 2021

83%

Eli Pancol

Duke · 2021

All-ACC

81%

Landon Sims

Hawai'i · 2024

81%

Mershawn Rice

Purdue · 2022

78%

Matches Caleb on

Class year

Reception volume

Weight

Player DNA

Players who play like Makai Cope

Chris Marshall

Arkansas · 2026

89%

Donovan Hamilton

Ball State · 2025

73%

Background

Honors CUSA Honor Roll: 2025 Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll: 2021 MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll: Fall 2025, Spring 2026 Missouri State 2025: Played in 12 games (412 snaps) and made 5 starts in his first season at Missouri State ... Finished campaign with 20 catches for 260 yards with multiple re...

via missouristatebears.com ↗

The receiver room · Missouri State

Jmariyae RobinsonWR · Sr.632 receiving yards · 2025
#11Makai CopeWR · Sr.269 receiving yards · 2025
#6Mekhi MillerWR · Sr.58 receiving yards · 2025
#13Isaiah MyersWR · Sr.43 receiving yards · 2025
#8Isaiah McMorrisWR · So.13 receiving yards · 2025

10 more on the roster · Missouri State team page

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