Senior running back for Toledo. 2025: 85 rushing yards.
5′11″ · 202 lb · Chicago, IL
The numbers
rushing yards · 2025
5.7 per carry
Best game: 49 rush yds, vs Morgan State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 running back for Toledo. 2025: 85 rushing yards.
Willie Shaw III
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Willie Shaw III has played for two head coaches in five seasons at Toledo. The receipt: 49 rush yds against Morgan State — Week 3, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Jason Candle → Robert Weiner. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Concern: rush yards (0th percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 28.3 | 5.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 25.7 | 5.8 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 8.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Jacobs
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 4 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | W 60-0vs Morgan State | 8 | 49 | 6.1 | 0 | 20 | Season-high 49 yds |
| Wk 5 | W 45-3vs Akron | 5 | 28 | 5.6 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-3vs Northern Illinois | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Bowl | L 22-27@ Louisville | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 15 | 85 | 5.2 | 0 | 20 |
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
CFB Index positional classification
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
2 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (9.5%).
2026 Outlook
Toledo
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Running back · Toledo
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Toledo · Last season: 8-5 · Talent rank #116 · 2026 recruiting class #121
Player DNA
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Daijun Edwards’s 2021 season.
Matches Daijun on
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Deon Jackson’s path through Duke.
Matches Deon on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Nay'Quan Wright's senior season at South Florida (2023).
Matches Nay'Quan on
Differs from Nay'Quan on
Player DNA
6 more on the roster · Toledo team page