Markell Jones is a Committee Back for Purdue. Markell's 2015 season ranks in the 43th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 210 plays — a developing rate for the RB.
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 |
| James Flanders | Tulsa | 2016 | 266 | 0.390 | 4.9 | 103.7 |
| Travis Etienne | Clemson | 2019 | 213 | 0.470 | 4.7 | 100.1 |
| Hassan Haskins | Michigan | 2021 | 280 | 0.380 | 4.8 | 106.4 |
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 | @Marshall | L31-41 | 3.5 | 12 | 72 | 6.0 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.17 |
| 2 | vsIndiana State | W38-14 | — | 14 | 67 | 4.8 | 1 | 4 | 32 | 1 | 0.38 |
| 3 | vsVirginia Tech | L24-51 | 11.4 | 6 |
Usage = share of team plays (CFBD has no true snap counts).
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 16 · Rush Yds 96 · Avg 6.0 · Rush TD 1
| 90 |
| 15.0 |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| 0 |
| 0.61 |
| 4 | vsBowling Green | L28-35 | 7.5 | 6 | 19 | 3.2 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 0 | -0.12 |
| 5 | @Michigan State | L21-24 | 15.6 | 22 | 157 | 7.1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.19 |
| 6 | vsMinnesota | L13-41 | 8.1 | 6 | 7 | 1.2 | 0 | — | — | — | -0.32 |
| 7 | @Wisconsin | L7-24 | 15.1 | 12 | 46 | 3.8 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 0 | -0.11 |
| 9 | vsNebraska | W55-45 | 11.1 | 23 | 92 | 4.0 | 2 | 5 | 51 | 0 | 0.25 |
| 10 | vsIllinois | L14-48 | 2.7 | 14 | 84 | 6.0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0.02 |
| 11 | @Northwestern | L14-21 | 0.2 | 13 | 58 | 4.5 | 1 | 5 | 68 | 0 | 0.56 |
| 12 | @Iowa | L20-40 | 9.3 | 24 | 87 | 3.6 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | -0.01 |
| 13 | vsIndiana | L36-54 | 0.4 | 16 | 96 | 6.0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 0 | -0.01 |
