Royce Freeman is a 3-year Featured Back for Oregon. Royce's 2017 season ranks in the 25th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 242 plays — a developing rate for the RB. Production has trended downward season-over-season on adjusted value metrics.
Recruiting data from CFBD/247Sports composite. Sourced from the player's signing-class team — transfers show original school's class.
The centerpiece of the run game — high carry volume, used in early downs and goal-line, true workhorse role.
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 |
| Breece Hall | Iowa State | 2020 | 301 | 0.340 | 4.5 | 102.3 |
| Hassan Haskins | Michigan | 2021 | 280 | 0.380 | 4.8 | 106.4 |
| James Flanders | Tulsa | 2016 | 266 | 0.390 | 4.9 | 103.7 |
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 | vsSouthern Utah | W77-21 | — | 23 | 150 | 6.5 | 4 | 4 | 50 | 0 | 0.35 |
| 2 | vsNebraska | W42-35 | 2.5 | 29 | 153 | 5.3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0.18 |
| 3 | @Wyoming | W49-13 | -2.5 | 30 |
Usage = share of team plays (CFBD has no true snap counts).
| Season | Team | Line value | WEPA/play | YoY Δ | Total EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Oregon | 4.3 | 0.370 | — | 95.5 |
| 2015 | Oregon | 5.1 | 0.360 | -0.01 | 99.0 |
| 2017 | Oregon | 2.5 | 0.270 | -0.09 | 62.9 |
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 19 · Rush Yds 122 · Avg 6.4 · Rush TD 2
| 157 |
| 5.2 |
| 3 |
| 1 |
| 50 |
| 0 |
| 0.37 |
| 4 | @Arizona State | L35-37 | 1.0 | 15 | 81 | 5.4 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0.06 |
| 5 | vsCalifornia | W45-24 | -1.0 | 6 | 51 | 8.5 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.32 |
| 6 | vsWashington State | L10-33 | 8.6 | 12 | 62 | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 7 | @Stanford | L7-49 | 15.8 | 18 | 143 | 7.9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.22 |
| 8 | @UCLA | L14-31 | 4.9 | 29 | 160 | 5.5 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.21 |
| 9 | vsUtah | W41-20 | 12.0 | 20 | 139 | 6.9 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.23 |
| 10 | @Washington | L3-38 | 22.1 | 24 | 122 | 5.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.08 |
| 12 | vsArizona | W48-28 | 3.7 | 19 | 135 | 7.1 | 4 | — | — | — | 0.63 |
| 13 | vsOregon State | W69-10 | -12.6 | 19 | 122 | 6.4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0.46 |
