Royce Freeman is a 3-year Featured Back for Oregon. Royce's 2015 season ranks in the 63th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 307 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Taylor | Wisconsin | 2018 | 297 | 0.360 | 5.0 | 106.9 |
| Jonathan Taylor | Wisconsin | 2017 | 307 | 0.350 | 4.8 | 107.4 |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | Minnesota | 2022 | 314 | 0.330 | 5.3 | 103.6 |
| Jaret Patterson | Buffalo | 2019 | 319 | 0.370 | 5.6 | 118.0 |
| Blake Corum | Michigan | 2023 | 283 | 0.380 | 5.1 | 107.5 |
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 | vsEastern Washington | W61-42 | — | 21 | 180 | 8.6 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0.86 |
| 2 | @Michigan State | L28-31 | 15.6 | 24 | 92 | 3.8 |
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 26 · Rush Yds 130 · Avg 5.0 · Rush TD 3
| 1 |
| 3 |
| 34 |
| 0 |
| 0.03 |
| 3 | vsGeorgia State | W61-28 | -6.7 | 10 | 101 | 10.1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.72 |
| 4 | vsUtah | L20-62 | 11.0 | 14 | 77 | 5.5 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 1 | 0.46 |
| 5 | @Colorado | W41-24 | -4.0 | 27 | 163 | 6.0 | 2 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 0.44 |
| 6 | vsWashington State | L38-45 | 4.2 | 27 | 246 | 9.1 | 2 | 3 | 46 | 1 | 0.48 |
| 7 | @Washington | W26-20 | 9.7 | 27 | 138 | 5.1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.23 |
| 9 | @Arizona State | W61-55 | 10.2 | 15 | 110 | 7.3 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 0.45 |
| 10 | vsCalifornia | W44-28 | 12.1 | 29 | 180 | 6.2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.31 |
| 11 | @Stanford | W38-36 | 22.8 | 16 | 105 | 6.6 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.16 |
| 12 | vsUSC | W48-28 | 16.8 | 20 | 147 | 7.3 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 0.35 |
| 13 | vsOregon State | W52-42 | -10.1 | 27 | 167 | 6.2 | 2 | 3 | 51 | 0 | 0.51 |
| 1 | vsTCU | L41-47 | 19.0 | 26 | 130 | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 0.47 |
