Matt Sykes

#8 · WR · Sr. · Rice6′4″ · 210 lb · Kapolei, HI · St. Louis School

Matt Sykes: WR · Rice · #8.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Caleb DouglasTexas Tech · 2024 · 84% season match
Jahmal BanksWake Forest · 2023 · 82% season match
Andrew ArmstrongArkansas · 2023 · 78% season match
Isaiah HortonMiami · 2024 · 78% season match
Sam PinckneyCoastal Carolina · 2022 · 74% season match

Matt Sykes

WR · Rice · Sr · #8

Moves the chains on third down. Played for two head coaches at two programs in five seasons: Chip Kelly and Mike Bloomgren. On tape: 118 receiving yards and 7 receptions against South Florida, Week 14, 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.

Rice in the news

Rashee Rice out for Week 6Draftsharks Oct 16

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2024	Rice	65	795	12.2	5	37
2023	Rice	1	32	32.0	0	32
2022	UCLA	6	86	14.3	1	27
2021	UCLA	1	9	9.0	0	9
2020	UCLA	3	24	8.0	0	13
Career		76	946	12.4	6	37

Season	Team
2024	Rice	2	−4	--
2023	Rice	--	--	--
2022	UCLA	1	--	--
2021	UCLA	--	--	14
2020	UCLA	--	--	--
Career		3	−4	14

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2024 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 14-34vs Sam Houston	6	74	12.3	0	28
Wk 2	W 69-7vs Texas Southern	2	47	23.5	1	34
Wk 3	L 7-33@ Houston	2	6	3.0	0	4
Wk 4	L 14-37@ Army	6	82	13.7	1	18
Wk 5	L 20-21vs Charlotte	8	97	12.1	0	25
Wk 7	W 29-27vs UTSA	7	85	12.1	1	18
Wk 8	L 10-24@ Tulane	7	74	10.6	0	20
Wk 9	L 10-17@ UConn	3	24	8.0	0	11
Wk 10	W 24-10vs Navy	8	93	11.6	1	21
Wk 11	L 20-27@ Memphis	6	76	12.7	1	29
Wk 13	L 14-40@ UAB	3	19	6.3	0	11
Wk 14	W 35-28vs South Florida	7	118	16.9	0	37	Season-high 118 yds
Total		65	795	12.2	5	37

Signature game

Week 10 · 2024

W 24-10

vs Navy

8 rec · 93 yds · 1 TD

With E. Warner — 239 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 54.7 · D. Connors — 105 rush yds (18 car) · 2 TD · 4 rec · 34 yds

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 14 · South Florida · 2nd and 15 · Q3 · EPA +3.98E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 37 yds to the USF 33 for a
Week 7 · UTSA · 3rd and 11 · Q4 · EPA +3.43E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 18 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
Week 10 · Navy · 3rd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +3.14E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 17 yds for a TD (Tim Horn KICK)
Week 14 · South Florida · 3rd and 9 · Q3 · EPA +3.08E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 19 yds to the USF 32 for a
Week 2 · Texas Southern · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.94E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 34 yds for a TD (Enock Gota KICK)
Week 1 · Sam Houston · 3rd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +2.86E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for a

4 more plays

Week 11 · Memphis · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.74E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 27 yds for a TD (Tim Horn KICK)
Week 10 · Navy · 3rd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +2.24E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 12 yds to the RICE 41 for a
Week 14 · South Florida · 2nd and 8 · Q2 · EPA +2.16E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 17 yds to the RICE 44 for a
Week 4 · Army · 2nd and 9 · Q4 · EPA +2.15E.J. Warner pass complete to Matt Sykes for 13 yds to the RICE 49 for a

Teams and coaches

2020UCLA3-4HC: Chip Kelly · Run-heavy

2021UCLA8-4HC: Chip Kelly · Run-heavy

2022UCLA9-4HC: Chip Kelly · Run-leaning

2023Rice6-7HC: Mike Bloomgren · Balanced, slow tempo

2024Rice4-8HC: Mike Bloomgren and Pete Alamar · Pass-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 70 (#70 of 466). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

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

70Quality starter #70 of 466 · 2024?

13 metrics · season cumulative

2024 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: receptions (93rd percentile). Strength: rec yards (85th percentile). Concern: rush yards (5th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

EPA / target#214 / 610 · 65th pct

1.00

TD rate#315 / 610 · 48th pct

5.7%

Yards / catch#339 / 610 · 45th pct

11.5

Catch rate#383 / 610 · 37th pct

87.1%

Explosive rate#412 / 610 · 32nd pct

11.4%

Box-score rates (8)

Receptions#40 / 541 · 93rd pct

Rec yards#82 / 541 · 85th pct

795

Rec TDs#101 / 541 · 78th pct

Rush TDs#55 / 299 · 41st pct

Yards / catch#322 / 541 · 40th pct

12.2

Fumbles lost#90 / 221 · 36th pct

Long catch#410 / 541 · 24th pct

Rush yards#282 / 299 · 5th pct

-4

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 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 · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	6.3	85.7	14.8	0.5
Road6g	4.5	46.8	9.0	0.3

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	5.2	65.2	12.8	0.5
Weeks 8+6g	5.7	67.3	11.0	0.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2024 season

Head Coach

Mike Bloomgren

Pass share

61.6%

477 pass / 297 run

Plays / game

64.5

12 games

Team sack rate

1.9%

483 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Pass-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2024

Starter

65 catches and 2 carries in 12 games, more catches a game than nearly every FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

70 · #70 of 466 WRs · 2024

Three-star recruit. Now #70 at the position.

Matt Sykes

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Rice in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

Starter

Five seasons, two schools

Moves

2020 3 games

2023