Markese Stepp

#30 · RB · Sr. · Western Kentucky6′1″ · 225 lb · Indianapolis, IN · Cathedral

Markese Stepp: RB · Western Kentucky · #30.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Samuel Brown VRutgers · 2023 · 81% season match
Deion HankinsUTEP · 2021 · 80% season match
Carson SteeleUCLA · 2023 · 76% season match
Dylan DowningPurdue · 2022 · 76% season match
Chaton MobleyMiddle Tennessee · 2021 · 76% season match

Markese Stepp

RB · Western Kentucky · Sr · #30

Just keeps getting the ball, series after series. Played for three head coaches across six seasons and three programs. One game to point at: 76 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD against Louisiana Tech — Week 6, 2023.

Style of play

Play style

Built to take 20+ carries per game. Volume is the value.

Fans

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

Where to follow

Career stats

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Season	Team
2023	Western Kentucky	69	310	4.5	3	56
2022	Western Kentucky	20	102	5.1	0	39
2021	Nebraska	45	177	3.9	2	19
2020	USC	45	165	3.7	3	49
2019	USC	48	307	6.4	3	35
2018	USC	7	33	4.7	0	9
Career		234	1,094	4.7	11	56

Season	Team
2023	Western Kentucky	7	73	10.4	0	26
2022	Western Kentucky	--	--	--	--	--
2021	Nebraska	1	30	30.0	0	30
2020	USC	3	28	9.3	0	16
2019	USC	--	--	--	--	--
2018	USC	1	7	7.0	0	7
Career		12	138	11.5	0	30

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 41-24vs South Florida	4	21	5.3	1	11
Wk 2	W 52-22vs Houston Christian	9	48	5.3	0	20
Wk 3	L 10-63@ No. 6 Ohio State	8	19	2.4	0	8
Wk 5	W 31-10vs Middle Tennessee	6	16	2.7	0	5
Wk 6	W 35-28@ Louisiana Tech	9	76	8.4	1	56	Season-high 76 yds
Wk 8	L 17-20@ Jacksonville State	7	23	3.3	0	8
Wk 9	L 29-42vs Liberty	4	29	7.3	0	14
Wk 10	W 21-13@ UTEP	3	4	1.3	0	2
Wk 11	L 29-38vs New Mexico State	8	34	4.3	0	10
Wk 12	W 28-23vs Sam Houston	4	8	2.0	1	5
Wk 13	W 41-28@ Florida International	7	32	4.6	0	12
Total		69	310	4.5	3	56

Signature game

Week 6 · 2023

W 35-28

at Louisiana Tech

76 rush yds (9 car) · 1 TD

Edged out Louisiana Tech on the road in a shootout.

With A. Reed — 297 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 72.5 · T. Ellard — 40.7 yards per punt · 7 punts · 45 long

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 6 · Louisiana Tech · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +4.37Markese Stepp run for 56 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 8 · Jacksonville State · 3rd and 4 · Q1 · EPA +1.79Markese Stepp run for 8 yds to the JVST 39 for a
Week 2 · Houston Christian · 3rd and 3 · Q2 · EPA +1.77Markese Stepp run for 6 yds to the WKU 46 for a
Week 12 · Sam Houston · 1st and 3 · Q2 · EPA +1.46Markese Stepp run for 3 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 3 · Ohio State · 2nd and 2 · Q1 · EPA −1.29Markese Stepp run for no gain to the OSU 48
Week 9 · Liberty · 2nd and 3 · Q2 · EPA +1.29Markese Stepp run for 14 yds to the WKU 46 for a

4 more plays

Week 2 · Houston Christian · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.25Markese Stepp run for 20 yds to the HCU 34 for a
Week 11 · New Mexico State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.25Austin Reed pass complete to Markese Stepp for 26 yds to the WKU 30 for a
Week 1 · South Florida · 1st and 2 · Q1 · EPA +1.21Markese Stepp run for 2 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 6 · Louisiana Tech · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −1.16Markese Stepp run for no gain to the WKU 45

Rushing profile

Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security

How he gets his yards, and how often it works

69 car · 310 yds · 3 TD

69 of 69 carries matched to play-by-play

Success rate

42%69 carries

Stuffed

0 or fewer yds

10%of carries

7 carries

Grind

1–3 yds

51%of carries

35 carries

Chunk

4–9 yds

29%of carries

20 carries

Explosive

10+ yds

10%of carries

7 carries

4 of 7 (57%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 2 of 3 (67%) scored from inside the 5-yard line

4.5 yds/carry on 69 carries · 10% explosive (10+ yds) · 42% success rate.

Teams and coaches

2018USC5-7HC: Clay Helton · Balanced

2019USC8-5HC: Clay Helton · Pass-leaning

2020USC5-1HC: Clay Helton · Pass-leaning, fast tempo

2021Nebraska3-9HC: Scott Frost · Run-leaning

2022Western Kentucky9-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-leaning

2023Western Kentucky8-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 38 (#217 of 310). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2023 season

38Below cohort / limited sample #217 of 310 · 2023?

12 metrics · season cumulative

2023 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Concern: explosive rate (11th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

TD rate#216 / 426 · 49th pct

4.3%

Success rate#265 / 426 · 37th pct

42.0%

Yards / carry#292 / 426 · 32nd pct

4.8

EPA / carry#312 / 426 · 27th pct

0.06

Explosive rate#378 / 426 · 11th pct

2.9%

Box-score rates (7)

Long run#103 / 333 · 68th pct

Rec yards#175 / 327 · 46th pct

Rush TDs#181 / 333 · 40th pct

Yards / carry#217 / 333 · 33rd pct

4.5

Receptions#220 / 327 · 30th pct

Carries#235 / 333 · 29th pct

Rush yards#245 / 333 · 27th pct

310

Season trend

EPA / carry— first qualifying season

Success rate— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Yards / carry— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2023. 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

2023 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Home6g	26.0	4.5	0.3
Road5g	30.8	4.0	0.2

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	36.0	4.8	0.4
Weeks 8+6g	21.7	3.8	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2023 season

Head Coach

Tyson Helton

Pass share

60.8%

539 pass / 347 run

Plays / game

68.2

13 games

Team sack rate

2.3%

559 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Pass-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

69 carries and 7 catches in 11 games

Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

38 · #217 of 310 RBs · 2023

Former four-star. Now #217 at the position.

Markese Stepp

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Rushing profile

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

69 carries and 7 catches in 11 games

Six seasons, three schools

2018 3 games