Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 30-22vs Nebraska | 16 | 75 | 4.7 | 1 | 45 | Season-high 75 yds |
| Wk 1 | L 30-37vs UTSA | 9 | 32 | 3.6 | 0 | 17 | Season-high 75 yds |
| Total | 25 | 107 | 4.2 | 1 | 45 |
#26
Mike Epstein
Senior running back for Illinois. 2021: 107 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 2 catches.
6′0″ · 205 lb · Fort Lauderdale, FL
Illinois 2021 alumnus
Recruiting
3★
RB recruit
No. 1045 nationally · Signed with Illinois
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 running back for Illinois. 2021: 107 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 2 catches.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Illinois in 2017.
Mike Epstein
Mike Epstein has been at Illinois through three head coaches in five seasons. One game to point at: 75 rush yds, 2 rec yds against Nebraska — Week 1, 2021.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- head-coach lineage
- game log
How it ended
Five seasons at Illinois, 1,270 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
20175 games
- Signed with Illinois3-star out of St. Thomas Aquinas
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Illinois
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Lovie Smith, Rod Smith, and Bret Bielema. Multi-era developmental context.
2021 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2017Illinois2-10HC: Lovie Smith · Balanced, slow tempo
2018Illinois4-8HC: Lovie Smith · Run-heavy
2019Illinois6-7HC: Lovie Smith · Run-leaning
2020Illinois2-6HC: Rod Smith · Run-heavy
2021Illinois5-7HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: fumbles lost (86th percentile). Concern: rush yards (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (8)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 53.5 YDS/g, 4.2 YPC, 0.5 TD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2021
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Nebraska · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +3.30Mike Epstein run for 45 yds to the Neb 31 for a 1ST down
- Week 1 · Nebraska · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA -1.59Mike Epstein run for a loss of 2 yards to the Illin 43
- Week 1 · UTSA · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +1.52Mike Epstein run for 17 yds to the Illin 42 for a 1ST down
- Week 1 · Nebraska · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -1.38Mike Epstein run for a loss of 1 yard to the Illin 46 ILLINOIS Penalty, Illegal Formation ( Yards) declined
- Week 1 · UTSA · 3&2 · Q3 · EPA +1.23Mike Epstein run for 2 yds to the Illin 37
- Week 1 · UTSA · 2&13 · Q1 · EPA +1.12Mike Epstein run for 10 yds to the Illin 49
- Week 1 · Nebraska · 2&12 · Q1 · EPA -1.05Mike Epstein run for a loss of 3 yards to the Illin 40
- Week 1 · Nebraska · 1&1 · Q2 · EPA +0.94Mike Epstein run for 1 yd for a TD, (James McCourt KICK)
- Week 1 · Nebraska · 3&1 · Q2 · EPA -0.80Mike Epstein run for a loss of 1 yard to the Illin 33
- Week 1 · UTSA · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA -0.64Mike Epstein run for 2 yds to the Illin 34
Game log
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology