Royce Freeman is a 3-year Explosive Back for Oregon. Royce's 2014 season ranks in the 57th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 251 plays — a average 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Flanders | Tulsa | 2016 | 266 | 0.390 | 4.9 | 103.7 |
| Hassan Haskins | Michigan | 2021 | 280 | 0.380 | 4.8 | 106.4 |
| Nick Wilson | Arizona | 2014 | 250 | 0.410 | 5.2 | 102.5 |
| Ameer Abdullah | Nebraska | 2014 | 262 | 0.380 | 5.3 | 99.6 |
| Saquon Barkley | Penn State | 2017 | 240 | 0.410 | 5.2 | 98.4 |
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 | vsSouth Dakota | W62-13 | — | 10 | 75 | 7.5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0.74 |
| 2 | vsMichigan State | W46-27 | 24.1 | 13 | 89 |
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 12 · Rush Yds 44 · Avg 3.7 · Rush TD 2
| 6.8 |
| 2 |
| 2 |
| 22 |
| 0 |
| 0.63 |
| 3 | vsWyoming | W48-14 | -14.0 | 5 | 22 | 4.4 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.12 |
| 4 | @Washington State | W38-31 | -1.7 | 20 | 75 | 3.8 | 0 | — | — | — | -0.05 |
| 6 | vsArizona | L24-31 | 7.6 | 19 | 85 | 4.5 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.08 |
| 7 | @UCLA | W42-30 | 17.7 | 18 | 121 | 6.7 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.57 |
| 8 | vsWashington | W45-20 | 7.8 | 29 | 169 | 5.8 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.41 |
| 9 | @California | W59-41 | -0.6 | 22 | 112 | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.25 |
| 10 | vsStanford | W45-16 | 21.4 | 19 | 98 | 5.2 | 0 | 3 | 52 | 0 | 0.22 |
| 11 | @Utah | W51-27 | 8.8 | 15 | 99 | 6.6 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0.12 |
| 13 | vsColorado | W44-10 | -5.0 | 17 | 105 | 6.2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.19 |
| 14 | @Oregon State | W47-19 | 3.2 | 22 | 135 | 6.1 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 0.48 |
| 15 | vsArizona | W51-13 | 7.6 | 21 | 114 | 5.4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0.27 |
| 1 | vsOhio State | L20-42 | 25.8 | 10 | 22 | 2.2 | 0 | — | — | — | -0.31 |
| 1 | vsFlorida State | W59-20 | 28.5 | 12 | 44 | 3.7 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 0 | -0.31 |
