#15Marquez Cooper

RB·Ball State·2023

Marquez Cooper is a Featured Back for Ball State. Marquez's 2023 season ranks in the 3th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 234 plays — a developing rate for the RB.

What projects, and what doesn't · RBs · held out 2019-2025

How well one season predicts the next, measured on seasons the model never trained on. 1.00 would be perfectly predictable; 0.00 means last year told us nothing.

Usage share (volume)0.52
Beats guessing the RB average by 18%. n=4,219 RB seasons
EPA per play (efficiency)0.10
Not projectable — we do not forecast this. n=3,575 RB seasons
Total EPA (value)0.41
Beats guessing the RB average by 9%. n=3,575 RB seasons

Across all positions, usage carries year to year at 0.47 and efficiency at 0.07. So Marquez Cooper's projection is a projection of opportunity — how much of the offense he runs through. How well he converts it is something this model does not claim to know a year in advance, and the number above is why.

2023 Production

Rushing

1043 Rush yards4 Rush TD227 Carries4.6 Yards/carry

Receiving

19 Receptions164 Rec yards0 Rec TD8.6 Yards/rec

Performance Analysis · 2023 · vs RB peers

Efficiency3
Volume91
Explosiveness32
Consistency5
Receiving38

Player type

Featured Back

The centerpiece of the run game — high carry volume, used in early downs and goal-line, true workhorse role.

Primary ball carrierHigh volumeGoal-line threat

Peer percentiles

Opponent-adjusted EPA (WEPA/play)3th %ile · below avg

Game-to-game consistency5th %ile · below avg

Key findings

▸Below-average efficiency vs RB peers — value comes through volume, not per-play impact.
▸High-volume role — one of the team's most-used RBs by play share.
▸High game-to-game variance — boom-or-bust profile.
▸Strong second-half surge — EPA/play improved 0.19 from the first to second half of the season.
▸Peak game: 0.58 EPA/play in Wk 3 vs Indiana State.

NIL Market Tier· 2023

On3 valuation ↗

Starter

Meaningful starter. Local collective + position-group deals.

Tier is a model estimate based on position, school brand, performance rank, and usage — not a reported deal. NIL deals are private. For a real market valuation, see On3's NIL profile, which factors in social following and actual deal tracking.

Historical Comparables · RB · efficiency + volume + value

Players from 2013–2025 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
Donnel Pumphrey	San Diego State	2016	344	0.320	4.2	110.1
Eno Benjamin	Arizona State	2018	316	0.330	4.6	104.3

Comps are statistical — efficiency, volume, and value tier all factor in. Style and conference context differ.

Game Log · box score + EPA, week by week

EPA per play · x-axis: weekabove 0 = added points · below = lost

Wk	Opponent	Result	Opp SP+	Car	Rush Yds	Avg	Rush TD	Rec	Rec Yds	Rec TD	EPA/play
1	@Kentucky	L14-44	10.5	15	33	2.2	0	1	8	0	-0.13
2	@Georgia	L3-45	31.2	12	8	0.7	0	1	5	0	-0.56
3	vsIndiana State	W45-7	—	22	177	8.0	1	—	—	—	0.58
4	vsGeorgia Southern	L3-40	-5.2	9	16	1.8	0	—	—	—	-0.38
5	@Western Michigan	L24-42	-15.9	15	82	5.5	0	4	54	0	0.32
6	@Eastern Michigan	L10-24	-12.3	6	46	7.7	0	7	62	0	0.18
7	vsToledo	L6-13	3.7	16	60	3.8	0	—	—	—	0.04
8	vsCentral Michigan	W24-17	-19.1	26	162	6.2	1	1	1	0	0.31
10	@Bowling Green	L21-24	-7.8	25	90	3.6	1	1	3	0	0.17
11	@Northern Illinois	W20-17	-7.5	25	93	3.7	0	2	18	0	0.10
12	vsKent State	W34-3	-26.3	25	140	5.6	1	—	—	—	0.29
13	vsMiami (OH)	L15-17	2.8	31	136	4.4	0	2	13	0	0.24

Usage & Situational · Pro

Snap-share proxy

Overall

32.0%

Passing plays

6.6%

Rushing plays

50.4%

Standard downs

39.3%

Passing downs

17.8%

EPA by down type

Standard downs: 0.22
Passing downs: 0.05
Pass / Rush EPA: 0.18 / 0.19

Usage = share of team plays (CFBD has no true snap counts).