Donaven McCulley is a Slot Specialist WR for Michigan. Donaven's 2025 season ranks in the 100th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 69 plays — a elite rate for the WR. A four-star recruit in the class of 2021, Donaven has lived up to his recruiting pedigree.
2026 Usage Outlook · projected share of team plays
Regressed toward the WR mean. Model correlation r≈0.47 on a 2019-2025 walk-forward — volume only; efficiency not projected.
Recruiting Profile· Class of 2021
- Stars
- ★★★★★
- 247 composite
- 0.9167
- National rank
- #223
- High school
- Lawrence North
- Hometown
- Indianapolis, IN
Recruiting data from CFBD/247Sports composite. Sourced from the player's signing-class team — transfers show original school's class.
2025 Production
Performance Analysis · 2025 · vs WR peers
The offense's primary passing-down weapon — routes, separation, and reliability on 3rd down define this role.
- ▸Top-10% efficiency among WRs — elite opponent-adjusted EPA rate.
- ▸Limited usage share suggests a rotational or specialist role.
- ▸8 high-impact games (EPA/play > 0.4) this season — elite ceiling.
- ▸Particularly dangerous on passing downs — efficiency spikes in obvious pass situations.
- ▸Production faded as the season progressed — 0.12 EPA/play decline from first to second half.
- ▸Peak game: 1.90 EPA/play in Wk 13 vs Maryland (SP+ 1).
NIL Market Tier· 2025
On3 valuation ↗Top-3 player at position nationally. Collective + national brand deals.
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.
Historical Comparables · WR · efficiency + volume + value
Players from 2014–2024 matched on EPA efficiency, play volume, and adjusted value tier — not just one metric.
| Player | Team | Yr | Plays | WEPA/play | Line val | Total EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keytaon Thompson | Mississippi State | 2017 | 70 | 0.460 | 1.2 | 32.2 |
| DeAndre Hughes | Air Force | 2021 | 60 | 0.470 | 1.3 | 28.2 |
| Savion Williams | TCU | 2024 | 56 | 0.450 | 1.1 | 25.2 |
| Quadree Henderson | Pittsburgh | 2016 | 63 | 0.530 | 1.6 | 33.4 |
| Javion Posey | Florida Atlantic | 2020 | 53 | 0.450 | 1.4 | 23.8 |
Comps are statistical — efficiency, volume, and value tier all factor in. Style and conference context differ.
Game Log · box score + EPA, week by week
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Opp SP+ | Rec | Rec Yds | Avg | Rec TD | Long | EPA/play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsNew Mexico | W34-17 | 0.9 | 4 | 31 | 7.8 | 0 | 9 | 0.57 |
| 2 | @Oklahoma | L13-24 | 18.3 | 3 | 91 | 30.3 | 0 | 44 | 0.45 |
| 3 | vsCentral Michigan | W63-3 | -8.8 | 3 | 36 | 12.0 | 0 | 16 | 0.68 |
| 4 | @Nebraska | W30-27 | 6.2 | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | 0 | 16 | 0.10 |
| 6 | vsWisconsin | W24-10 | -4.4 | 6 | 112 | 18.7 | 1 | 33 | 1.42 |
| 7 | @USC | L13-31 | 16.9 | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | 1 | 19 | 1.02 |
| 8 | vsWashington | W24-7 | 18.4 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 15 | 0.05 |
| 9 | @Michigan State | W31-20 | -3.4 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | — |
| 10 | vsPurdue | W21-16 | -6.1 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | -0.40 |
| 12 | vsNorthwestern | W24-22 | 5.8 | 4 | 59 | 14.8 | 0 | 26 | 0.88 |
| 13 | @Maryland | W45-20 | 0.6 | 2 | 46 | 23.0 | 1 | 24 | 1.90 |
| 14 | vsOhio State | L9-27 | 30.1 | 3 | 46 | 15.3 | 0 | 26 | 0.58 |
| 1 | vsTexas | L27-41 | 16.2 | 4 | 54 | 13.5 | 0 | 19 | -0.03 |
Usage & Situational · Pro
- Standard downs
- 0.37
- Passing downs
- 0.70
- Pass / Rush EPA
- 0.56 / -0.46
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.