J.K. Dobbins is a 2-year Committee Back for Ohio State. J.K.'s 2018 season ranks in the 0th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 255 plays — a developing rate for the RB. A four-star recruit in the class of 2017, J.K. has shown flashes of the talent that made him a coveted recruit.
Recruiting data from CFBD/247Sports composite. Sourced from the player's signing-class team — transfers show original school's class.
Part of a rotation — contributes in a complementary role and keeps the featured back fresh.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saquon Barkley | Penn State | 2016 | 288 | 0.340 | 3.9 | 97.9 |
| Dalvin Cook | Florida State | 2016 | 292 | 0.340 | 4.3 | 99.3 |
| Donnel Pumphrey | San Diego State | 2016 | 344 | 0.320 | 4.2 | 110.1 |
| Breece Hall | Iowa State | 2020 | 301 | 0.340 | 4.5 | 102.3 |
| Eno Benjamin | Arizona State | 2018 | 316 | 0.330 | 4.6 | 104.3 |
Comps are statistical — efficiency, volume, and value tier all factor in. Style and conference context differ.
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Opp SP+ | Car | Rush Yds | Avg | Rush TD | Rec | Rec Yds | Rec TD | EPA/play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsOregon State | W77-31 | -16.0 | 15 | 74 | 4.9 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.10 |
| 2 | vsRutgers | W52-3 | -12.3 | 12 | 73 | 6.1 |
Usage = share of team plays (CFBD has no true snap counts).
| Season | Team | Line value | WEPA/play | YoY Δ | Total EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ohio State | 3.3 | 0.360 | — | 72.0 |
| 2019 | Ohio State | 8.4 | 0.510 | +0.15 | 162.2 |
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.
Car 7 · Rush Yds 24 · Avg 3.4 · Rush TD 1
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 18 |
| 0 |
| 0.55 |
| 3 | vsTCU | W40-28 | 6.9 | 18 | 121 | 6.7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.15 |
| 4 | vsTulane | W49-6 | -3.5 | 11 | 55 | 5.0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0.51 |
| 5 | @Penn State | W27-26 | 19.0 | 17 | 57 | 3.4 | 1 | 2 | 61 | 1 | 0.37 |
| 6 | vsIndiana | W49-26 | 1.6 | 26 | 82 | 3.2 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 0.08 |
| 7 | vsMinnesota | W30-14 | 6.3 | 10 | 35 | 3.5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | -0.32 |
| 8 | @Purdue | L20-49 | 6.5 | 11 | 24 | 2.2 | 0 | 4 | 34 | 0 | -0.08 |
| 10 | vsNebraska | W36-31 | 5.4 | 23 | 163 | 7.1 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 0.51 |
| 11 | @Michigan State | W26-6 | 11.5 | 14 | 28 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | -0.35 |
| 12 | @Maryland | W52-51 | 3.0 | 36 | 203 | 5.6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -0.02 |
| 13 | vsMichigan | W62-39 | 22.0 | 12 | 46 | 3.8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -0.06 |
| 14 | vsNorthwestern | W45-24 | 1.9 | 17 | 68 | 4.0 | 1 | 4 | 50 | 1 | 0.23 |
| 1 | vsWashington | W28-23 | 19.9 | 7 | 24 | 3.4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0.07 |