Raphael Williams

#5 · WR · Sr. · Pittsburgh5′10″ · 165 lb · Fort Lauderdale, FL

Raphael Williams is a wide receiver who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Pittsburgh.

Williams wins underneath on volume and route precision. Second year in the same receiving corps at Pittsburgh. One game to point at: 121 receiving yards and 6 receptions against Central Michigan — Week 2, 2025.

Style of play

Play style

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Tahj WashingtonMemphis · 2020 · 82% season match
DT SheffieldRutgers · 2025 · 81% season match
Ashtyn HawkinsBaylor · 2024 · 80% season match
Kenny OdomUTEP · 2024 · 79% season match
Taylor MorinWake Forest · 2021 · 78% season match

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2025	Pittsburgh	52	741	14.2	7	67
2024	Pittsburgh	36	419	11.6	6	35
Career		88	1,160	13.2	13	67

Season	Team
2025	Pittsburgh	1	4	9
2024	Pittsburgh	1	−3	--
Career		2	1	9

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 61-9vs Duquesne	1	45	45.0	0	45
Wk 2	W 45-17vs Central Michigan	6	121	20.2	2	48	Season-high 121 yds
Wk 3	L 24-31@ West Virginia	6	119	19.8	1	67
Wk 5	L 27-34vs Louisville	4	57	14.3	1	38
Wk 6	W 48-7vs Boston College	2	18	9.0	0	15
Wk 7	W 34-31@ No. 25 Florida State	6	78	13.0	0	21
Wk 8	W 30-13@ Syracuse	3	28	9.3	0	15
Wk 9	W 53-34vs NC State	5	62	12.4	1	22
Wk 10	W 35-20@ Stanford	4	37	9.3	1	18
Wk 12	L 15-37vs No. 9 Notre Dame	3	14	4.7	0	8
Wk 13	W 42-28@ No. 15 Georgia Tech	2	39	19.5	0	20
Wk 14	L 7-38vs No. 13 Miami	5	66	13.2	0	38
Bowl	L 17-23vs East Carolina	5	57	11.4	1	22
Total		52	741	14.2	7	67

Signature game

Week 2 · 2025

W 45-17

vs Central Michigan

6 rec · 121 yds · 2 TD

Dominant 28-point win at home against Central Michigan.

With E. Holstein — 304 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 89.9 · 36 rush yds (4 car) · D. Reid — 5 rec · 69 yds · 46 rush yds (10 car)

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 2 · Central Michigan · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +4.76Eli Holstein pass complete to Raphael Williams Jr. for 48 yds for a TD (Trey Butkowski KICK)
Week 3 · West Virginia · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +4.48Eli Holstein pass complete to Raphael Williams Jr. for 67 yds to the WVU 6 for a
Week 12 · Notre Dame · 4th and 5 · Q3 · EPA −3.95Heintschel to Williams Jr.: a 4-yard pass.
Week 14 · Miami · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.73Heintschel to Williams Jr.: a 38-yard pass.
Week 9 · NC State · 3rd and 13 · Q1 · EPA +3.68M.Heintschel pass complete deep middle to R.Williams Jr. caught at NC ST35, for 22 yards to the NC ST33, End Of Play
Week 1 · Duquesne · 2nd and 5 · Q2 · EPA +3.49Eli Holstein pass complete to Raphael Williams Jr. for 45 yds to the DUQ 30 for a

4 more plays

Week 7 · Florida State · 3rd and 11 · Q1 · EPA +3.24Mason Heintschel pass complete to Raphael Williams Jr. for 15 yds to the FSU 44 for a
Week 5 · Louisville · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.09Eli Holstein pass complete to Raphael Williams Jr. for 38 yds for a TD (Trey Butkowski KICK)
Week 1 · East Carolina · 3rd and 2 · Q2 · EPA +2.92Heintschel to Williams Jr.: a 22-yard touchdown pass.
Week 5 · Louisville · 3rd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +2.56Cole Gonzales pass complete to Raphael Williams Jr. for 14 yds to the PITT 45 for a

Situational

Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)

Third-down role

24%18 of his 74 targets came on third down · Receiver median is 24%

Teams and coaches

2 seasons under Pat Narduzzi, all balanced offenses — 15-11 over that span.

2024Pittsburgh7-6HC: Pat Narduzzi · Balanced

2025Pittsburgh8-5HC: Pat Narduzzi · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 68 (#90 of 485). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2025 season

68Quality starter #90 of 485 · 2025?

Ascending12 metrics · season cumulative

2025 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: yards / catch (80th percentile). Strength: rec tds (92nd percentile). Concern: rush yards (28th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#159 / 798 · 80th pct

14.4

Explosive rate#174 / 798 · 78th pct

14.9%

TD rate#225 / 798 · 72nd pct

4.1%

EPA / target#354 / 798 · 56th pct

0.46

Catch rate#486 / 798 · 39th pct

64.9%

Box-score rates (7)

Rec TDs#37 / 558 · 92nd pct

Rec yards#88 / 558 · 84th pct

741

Receptions#109 / 558 · 80th pct

Long catch#112 / 558 · 80th pct

Yards / catch#175 / 558 · 68th pct

14.3

Rush TDs#67 / 287 · 39th pct

Rush yards#204 / 287 · 28th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

46th → 56th percentile

Explosive rate

49th → 78th percentile

Catch rate

24th → 39th percentile

TD rate

86th → 72nd percentile

Yards / catch

44th → 80th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2025. 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

2025 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home7g	3.7	54.7	17.0	0.6
Road5g	4.2	60.2	14.2	0.4

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	4.3	70.7	19.0	0.7
Weeks 8+6g	3.7	41.0	11.4	0.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Pat Narduzzi

Pass share

52.3%

464 pass / 424 run

Plays / game

68.3

13 games

Team sack rate

7.1%

478 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

52 catches and 1 carry in 13 games

About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

68 · #90 of 485 WRs · 2025

Unranked recruit. Now #90 at the position.

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-ACC

Based on 2025: #14 of 64 ACC WRs

How the All-ACC base rate is computed

A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).