Zonovan Knight: RB · NC State · #7.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Zonovan Knight
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Three seasons in the NC State backfield to date. All-America (CBS) in 2021 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 163 rushing yards and 16 receiving yards against South Florida — Week 1, 2021.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 22.9% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 8.5% of his carries. 8 carries for 16 yds vs Miami; 16 for 165 vs South Florida.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
Not actually a closer
37.9% of carries overall (130/343) → 27.3% of Q4-with-lead carries (18/66) — 94.4% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-0vs South Florida | 16 | 163 | 10.2 | 1 | 46 | Season-high 163 yds |
| Wk 2 | L 10-24@ Mississippi State | 8 | 31 | 3.9 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-7vs Furman | 11 | 104 | 9.5 | 1 | 42 | |
| Wk 4 | W 27-21vs No. 9 Clemson | 23 | 79 | 3.4 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-27vs Louisiana Tech | 13 | 85 | 6.5 | 1 | 25 | |
| Wk 7 | W 33-7@ Boston College | 11 | 41 | 3.7 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 8 | L 30-31@ Miami | 8 | 16 | 2.0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 9 | W 28-13vs Louisville | 11 | 23 | 2.1 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 10 | W 28-14@ Florida State | 18 | 75 | 4.2 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 11 | L 42-45@ No. 13 Wake Forest | 4 | 30 | 7.5 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 12 | W 41-17vs Syracuse | 8 | 37 | 4.6 | 0 | 19 | |
| Wk 13 | W 34-30vs North Carolina | 9 | 69 | 7.7 | 0 | 22 | |
| Total | 140 | 753 | 5.4 | 3 | 46 |
Week 3 · 2021
W 45-7
vs Furman
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
45%130 carriesFumble rate
2.1%3 of 140 carries · 2 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.4 yds/carry on 140 carries · 15% explosive (10+ yds) · 45% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
3 seasons under Dave Doeren, all balanced offenses — 21-15 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 80.0 | 6.3 | 0.4 |
| Road5g | 38.6 | 4.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 83.8 | 6.2 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 41.7 | 4.7 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dave Doeren
Pass share
54.4%
443 pass / 372 run
Plays / game
67.9
12 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
484 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2021
First team on a list outside the NCAA-recognized selectors.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #102 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2021
How it ended
Three seasons at NC State, 2,286 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2021)
named by 1 selector
ALL-ACC
All-ACC mention (2020)
Weekly recognition
2 weekly honors (2020)
3 career weekly honors across 2 seasons
Coaching lineage · 2019–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Dave Doeren.
