#12CJ Donaldson
CJ Donaldson is a Explosive Back for Ohio State. CJ's 2025 season ranks in the 15th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 85 plays — a developing rate for the RB.
2026 Usage Outlook · projected share of team plays
Regressed toward the RB mean. Model correlation r≈0.52 on a 2019-2025 walk-forward — volume only; efficiency not projected.
2025 Production
Performance Analysis · 2025 · vs RB peers
Elite per-carry efficiency — breaks big runs and creates chunk plays at a top rate while in a limited role.
- ▸Below-average efficiency vs RB peers — value comes through volume, not per-play impact.
- ▸4 high-impact games (EPA/play > 0.4) this season — elite ceiling.
- ▸Production faded as the season progressed — 0.87 EPA/play decline from first to second half.
- ▸Peak game: 2.79 EPA/play in Wk 1 vs Texas (SP+ 16).
NIL Market Tier· 2025
On3 valuation ↗Top-10 nationally. Multiple mid-to-large collective deals expected.
Tier is a model estimate based on position, school brand, performance rank, and usage — not a reported deal. NIL deals are private. For a real market valuation, see On3's NIL profile, which factors in social following and actual deal tracking.
Game Log · box score + EPA, week by week
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Opp SP+ | Car | Rush Yds | Avg | Rush TD | Rec | Rec Yds | Rec TD | EPA/play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsTexas | W14-7 | 16.2 | 19 | 67 | 3.5 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 2.79 |
| 2 | vsGrambling | W70-0 | — | 5 | 45 | 9.0 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.97 |
| 3 | vsOhio | W37-9 | -4.0 | 9 | 39 | 4.3 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0.21 |
| 5 | @Washington | W24-6 | 18.4 | 9 | 39 | 4.3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0.27 |
| 6 | vsMinnesota | W42-3 | 1.5 | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | — | — | — | 1.13 |
| 7 | @Illinois | W34-16 | 12.9 | 13 | 44 | 3.4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.21 |
| 8 | @Wisconsin | W34-0 | -4.4 | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 0.33 |
| 10 | vsPenn State | W38-14 | 18.1 | 7 | 17 | 2.4 | 1 | — | — | — | -0.10 |
| 11 | @Purdue | W34-10 | -6.1 | 5 | 12 | 2.4 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.02 |
| 13 | vsRutgers | W42-9 | 1.0 | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 1 | — | — | — | -0.44 |
| 14 | @Michigan | W27-9 | 12.4 | 14 | 44 | 3.1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.07 |
| 15 | vsIndiana | L10-13 | 32.4 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0.69 |
| 1 | vsMiami | L14-24 | 20.7 | 7 | 31 | 4.4 | 0 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 0.13 |
Usage & Situational · Pro
- Standard downs
- 0.24
- Passing downs
- 0.29
- Pass / Rush EPA
- 0.46 / 0.21
Usage = share of team plays (CFBD has no true snap counts).
Career · rolling EPA, game by game
Chart shows per-game EPA (bars) and rolling 5-game average (line). Season breaks marked with dashed lines. Line value = est. points over replacement per game.