Elijah Mitchell is a 3-year Explosive Back for Louisiana. Elijah's 2019 season ranks in the 55th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 218 plays — a average rate for the RB. Production has trended downward season-over-season on adjusted value metrics.
Elite per-carry efficiency — breaks big runs and creates chunk plays at a top rate while in a limited 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 |
| 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 | vsMississippi State | L28-38 | 3.5 | 14 | 31 | 2.2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -0.06 |
| 2 | vsLiberty | W35-14 | -2.6 | 15 | 74 | 4.9 |
Usage = share of team plays (CFBD has no true snap counts).
| Season | Team | Line value | WEPA/play | YoY Δ | Total EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Louisiana | 3.3 | 0.440 | — | 67.3 |
| 2019 | Louisiana | 2.9 | 0.330 | -0.11 | 70.0 |
| 2020 | Louisiana | 2.7 | 0.360 | +0.03 | 54.4 |
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 11 · Rush Yds 55 · Avg 5.0 · Rush TD 1
| 1 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 0.35 |
| 3 | vsTexas Southern | W77-6 | — | 7 | 73 | 10.4 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.83 |
| 4 | @Ohio | W45-25 | 3.7 | 17 | 143 | 8.4 | 3 | — | — | — | 0.70 |
| 5 | @Georgia Southern | W37-24 | -4.5 | 14 | 81 | 5.8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0.46 |
| 7 | vsApp State | L7-17 | 11.3 | 13 | 68 | 5.2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | -0.23 |
| 8 | @Arkansas State | W37-20 | -2.9 | 23 | 109 | 4.7 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.17 |
| 10 | vsTexas State | W31-3 | -16.2 | 13 | 126 | 9.7 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0.52 |
| 11 | @Coastal Carolina | W48-7 | -12.8 | 10 | 52 | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 0.48 |
| 12 | @South Alabama | W37-27 | -20.3 | 17 | 117 | 6.9 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0.42 |
| 13 | vsTroy | W53-3 | -4.4 | 7 | 31 | 4.4 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.33 |
| 14 | vsUL Monroe | W31-30 | -10.7 | 19 | 102 | 5.4 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.19 |
| 15 | @App State | L38-45 | 11.3 | 18 | 85 | 4.7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.25 |
| 1 | vsMiami (OH) | W27-17 | -9.2 | 11 | 55 | 5.0 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.13 |
