CFB DeptHITS: #VoluMonday, September 30
We go through the big offensive volume changes to note from a busy week five and do our first level of edits in preparation for week six.
This is the second #VoluMonday post as we look to provide you with the biggest volume changes across the offensive skill positions and offensive line. We’ll continue to do this into tomorrow on the defensive side of the ball. These updates are made on each team page and feel free to click the links to the pages in order to view a full picture of where the positional depth charts stand. These volume changes could be injury- or performance-related. Enjoy!
|||||| QUARTERBACKS
Charlotte ::: Deshawn Purdie took over for the struggling Trexler Ivey in week five. He's likely the starter going forward.
San Diego State ::: Danny O'Neil made his return to the starting lineup against Central Michigan. He went 12/23 for 246 yards and 2 TD; but the offense hit a wall in the second half for a 22-21 loss to the Chips.
Old Dominion ::: Grant Wilson returned to action for the Monarchs in week five but was hurt halfway through and gave way to Colton Joseph. Joseph struggled after taking over, but held on for a 30-27 win over Bowling Green.
Troy ::: Goose Crowder was hurt (again) in the week five game. He was replaced by Tucker Kilcrease, who was also banged up and forced out of the game. Matthew Caldwell entered and threw one pass in the Trojans' 13-9 loss to ULM.
North Texas ::: Chandler Morris briefly visited the injury tent in week five; but it was not enough to slow him down as he posted a monster game against Tulsa, throwing for 439 yards and five touchdowns.
South Florida ::: Byrum Brown left the game in week five with an injury. We'll track his progress heading into the bye week. The Bulls return to action week 7 hosting Memphis.
Connecticut ::: The injury woes continue for Nick Evers, who left the week five game with an injury after about half of the game. Joe Fagnano entered in his stead again and finished up the route of Buffalo with an 11/19, 217 yards and 3 TD. Evers has another head injury and will proceed with caution.
Ohio ::: Parker Navarro returned after a one game absense and led the Bobcats to a 30-10 win over Akron. He was efficient, going 12/18 for 204 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT. He added 113 yards and a score on the ground.
Marshall ::: Stone Early returned to action week five against Western Michigan and led the Herd to a 27-20 win over the Broncos with a 3 TD performance.
|||||| RUNNING BACKS
Texas ::: Quintrevion Wisner made his return to the field against Mississippi State in week five and led with 13 carries for 88 yards. Jaydon Blue and Jerrick Gibson took a back seat to Wisner in this one. He may have established himself as the 1-A here.
Boston College ::: Kye Robichaux was thought to be "doubtful" heading into week five but he rallied to see the field against WKU, taking 18 carries for 81 yards and a score. He pulled away from both Treshaun Ward and Turbo Richard in this one.
North Texas ::: With both Ikaika Ragsdale and Damashja Harris out, the new "starter" was Shane Porter, who managed -1 yards on four carries. Makenzie McGill busted out a 75-yard touchdown run, but managed -4 yards on his four other carries. Kiefer Sibley led with 7 carries for 58 yards and Chandler Morris threw it 34 times in the route of Tulsa.
Wake Forest ::: Demond Claiborne was carted off the field only to return and actually see the field again. It was a bizarre string of events, but we'll add him to the tracker as "probable" just in case something flares up on him. The Deacs are at NC State in week six.
Colorado ::: Dallan Hayden made his return to the field for the Buffaloes in week five, netting 11 carries for 33 yards and a score. Colorado didn't have much success on the ground, but Shedeur Sanders carved up the UCF Knights in a 48-21 route in Orlando.
Ohio ::: Anthony Tyus II was listed as "questionable" before the week five game. He played and racked up 30 carries for 109 yards on the day. It was by far his highest volume day of the season and further separated him from second-string Rickey Hunt Jr.
Cincinnati ::: Corey Kiner was hurt in week five after just two carries. He was replaced by Evan Pryor, who had 8 carries for 46 yards and a score. Manny Covey also received 8 carries, but managed just 15 yards. We'll track Kiner's injury status following their week six bye.
Clemson ::: Phil Mafah's injury scare the week prior was put to rest as he returned against Stanford and carried it 10 times for 58 yards. He was not needed late as the Tigers were rolling. He appears to be okay.
|||||| WIDE RECEIVERS
North Texas ::: Damon Ward Jr. sat week five with an injury and is considered day-to-day. With him out, Chandler Morris moved the ball around to 12 different pass catchers throughout the day. Blair Conwright had the big 96-yard TD reception. Five different players caught touchdowns.
Western Michigan ::: Kenneth Womack has returned after a broken hand sidelined him until week five. He took eight targets for six catches and 43 yards on the day against Marshall.
Michigan State ::: Jaron Glover made his return to the field in week five against the Buckeyes. He led with four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. Also, fellow WR Nick Marsh was banged up and played through it, catching two passes for 30 yards.
Texas ::: De'Andre Moore was questionable heading into week five with a hip pointer issue. He played and was the leading receiver with 103 yards and two TDs on four catches.
UTSA ::: De'Corian Clark made his return to the field for the Roadrunners; but he managed just 19 snaps, two targets and no catches in that return against ECU.
Louisville ::: Caullin Lacy made his much anticipated debut in 2024 against Notre Dame in week five; he managed five grabs (on eight targets) for 71 yards. He's officially back and likely the No. 1 threat in this passing game going forward.
|||||| TIGHT ENDS
Michigan ::: Colston Loveland made his return to the field for the Wolverines, but he was clearly limited by playing just 18 snaps, getting 6 targets and hauling in four of them for 41 yards on the day.
Kennesaw State ::: Carson Kent returned to the field after missing week three and then having the bye to recover. He played 50 offensive snaps, received one target, a four-yard catch. He's primarily a blocker and held his own in that duty upon his return.
Ole Miss ::: Dae'Quan Wright ended up playing his usual slimmed down role for the Rebels this week after an injury scare in week four. He was not involved in the passing game and played 20 offensive snaps.
Massachusetts ::: Dominick Mazotti made his return to the field for the Minutemen in week five. He played 50 snaps and saw on target, a 7-yard catch.
Oregon ::: Terrance Ferguson suffered a head injury in week five and may need to pass some protocols to be ready for week six against Michigan State.
Minnesota ::: Jameson Geers was listed as questionable leading up to week five. He gave it a go but managed to play just five snaps in the game. He had been averaging over 30 per game. We'll keep him on the injury tracker going forward.
|||||| OFFENSIVE LINE
Louisiana-Monroe ::: Starting LT Sam Carson posted a DNP in week five. Que McBroom held it down in his stead. ULM plays JMU in week six and we'll be tracking Carson's availability.
Baylor ::: Starting RT Cambell Barrington was forced to sit week five and that moved usual LT Kaden Sieracki over to the right side. Then, Alvin Ebosele moved into the starting LT spot. We'll track Barrington's injury as he's a big part of this offensive line. The Bears will need him against a tough Iowa State squad on the road in week six.
New Mexico ::: RT Wallace Unamba was announced out right before week five. That forced started center McKenzie Agnello over to RT and asked Malik Allane to take on the center job. The Lobos will have a bye week six and hope to get healthy and get this offensive line back to full strength.
Washington ::: Maximus McCree has taken over as the full-time, starting LT over Soane Faasalo. This is in line with what the player-level data is showing us as the best player at the position.
Alabama ::: With LT Kadyn Proctor back to full speed, the Tide moved Elijah Pritchett over to RT to take over for Wilkin Formby as the starter on the other bookend. That appears to be the lineup going forward. All five starters played every snap across the line.
Houston ::: Dakota White started and played exclusively at LT. No snaps for David Ndukwe. Either that is a changing of the guard at the posiiton or Ndukwe has some sort of injury holding him back. We see a significant difference between the two with Ndukwe over 3 points better in our ratings system.
Eastern Michigan ::: With LT Mack Indestad still on the shelf, Blake Bustard moved over to take on that role over Chris Mayo, who as just not quite cutting it. This is actually a better situation via our data for the offensive line, even when Indestad returns to health.
San Diego State ::: Starting LG Myles Murao was out for week five, prompting the move of LG Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli over to the left side and the ask of Tyler McMahon to take on the role of starter at RG. McMahon performed well via PFF game grades. We'll traack Murao's status for week six against Hawaii.
Louisiana Tech ::: RG Tautia Lio Marks sat out week five and was replaced by a combination of Ender Aguilar and Jack Tanner. Tracking for week six against Army.
Texas Tech ::: RT Ty Buchanan did not play week five unexpectedly. This forced a shift in positions for this offensive line. We'll keep an eye on his status leading into week six against Arizona.
South Florida ::: Starting LT RJ Perry missed week five, prompting a shift moving LG Jack Wilty over to LT and pushed Cole Best into the starting lineup holding down LG. Based on our numbers, this is not a big impact to the production, but certainly impacts depth.
Marshall ::: OL Bryce Ramsey DNP week five and was replaced at RG by inexperienced Shun'Markus Adams. We'll keep Ramsey on the list as tracking as this is an impactful injury in the trenches.
Rice ::: OL Chad Lindberg moved over to start at LT over Ethan Onianwa, who appears to have lost that job.
Kent State ::: Starting RT Cameron Golden sat out week five with an apparent injury and was replaced by Garrett Masterson. That is a drop in production and something to track going forward.
Colorado ::: The impact of the loss of Kahlil Benson at RG was lessened by a solid showing from Kareem Harden at that spot in week five. Benson remains questionable, but we won't see a huge negative impact based on what we saw week five.
Central Michigan ::: RT Brayden Swartout sat week five, causing a shift in the line. Martin Kovisto started and played the full game at RT, which is a relatively large difference in talent based on our player ratings. We'll keep Swartout on the tracker while the Chips have a bye in week six.
Florida Atlantic ::: OL Scarlee Jean made his debut week five playing 33 snaps at left tackle as Daughtry Richardson remains out and the shuffle continues on the offensive line.
Wyoming ::: LG Wes King was injured in-game week five and he didn't return. He will have a bye week to get healthy and return. We'll leave him on the injury tracker until we hear more.
Western Michigan ::: C Jacob Gideon missed week three but healed up over the week four bye week and returned for week five. He is the starting center and the best offensive lineman in this group.
Virginia Tech ::: OL shifts include Brody Meadows returning from injury and playing full-time at RG, moving Kaden Moore to center, replacing an injured Braelin Moore.
UTSA ::: OL Venly Tatafu missed one game but returned as the starter at left guard for week five. A welcome return to add to the rotation as he played about 3/4 snaps as he works back in.
Penn State ::: RG Sal Wormley was injured and did not return to the week five game after just 14 snaps. Olaivavega Ioane moved over from LG and JB Nelson saw more playing time at LG after the shift. Wormley is a starter but there is plenty of talent in the depth here to avoid a big drop in production.
Oklahoma ::: RT Jake Taylor made his return to the field for the first time since week two. He played a full game at right tackle and did his job in pass protection; struggling in run blocking according to PFF.
New Mexico State ::: C Canaan Yarro was back at center for the Aggies and he is a key part of their offensive line. He played a full load after a one-game absense.
Maryland ::: RT Andre Roye Jr. returned after a one week absense to this role as the starting right tackle for the Terps. His performance has not been anything special, in fact, PFF suggests he is not a starting-level player - especially in pass blocking.
Louisiana ::: RG Jax Harrington made his way back after a three week absense for the Cajuns. He re-claimed his spot as the starting right guard and dominated in pass blocking against Wake according to his PFF grade.
Fresno State ::: C Mose Vavao was seen with a leg brace on pre-week five but managed to play and play a full load against Baylor in week five. That injury scare was just that, a scare. Also, RG Campbell McHarg sat out week five, giving way to Daniel Taumalolo to hold it down. This O-Line is really banged up.
BYU ::: OL Connor Pay was hurt in-game week five and it looked like a serious injury. Sonny Makasini made his return to his normal right guard spot before moving over to center after 11 snaps to replace the injury Pay. Austin Leausa then took over at RG. LG Weylin Lapuaho was hurt very late in the Baylor game, we'll track that one too.
That’s our show for today. We’ll keep up with all of the injury news and updates coming out here on this Monday and keep an eye on our X account for big ones throughout the day. More tomorrow! Thanks for following along. Please subscribe if you have not yet. It fuels us to keep on going…
