Running back, North Carolina Central (from Indiana State), 2022–⁠26

Plez Lawrence

Number
No. 8
Height
5′9″
Weight
202 lb
Class (2026)
Senior
Hometown
Kokomo, IN

Plez Lawrence plays running back for North Carolina Central, after Indiana State (2022–⁠25). Last time out, at East Carolina: 9 carries, −6 yards; 2 catches, −1 yard. Lawrence leads North Carolina Central in rushing yards this season.

2026 so far

317 rushing yards, 4 TD

Last game: 9 carries, −6 yards; 2 catches, −1 yard at East Carolina, L 9–⁠42

Next game: at Delaware State, Oct 23

Game by game this season, rushing yards
  1. 40@TXSO
  2. 14ECSU
  3. 210NCAT
  4. 59@GWEB
  5. -6@ECU

Filled bars: wins; outlined: losses.

Career highs

210rushing yards, career highvs. North Carolina A&T, 20263rushing touchdowns, career hightwice; last vs. North Carolina A&T, 20267catches, career highat Eastern Illinois, 202492receiving yards, career highvs. McKendree, 2025

Rushing

Rushing yards, season by season, with his team’s record

* The season in progress, so far.

SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2022Indiana State3144.709
2023Indiana State1045024.8339
2024*Indiana State1074123.9389
2025Indiana State592524.3332
2026North Carolina Central543175.9473
Career3271,4974.61389

Receiving

SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2023Indiana State3186.0012
2024*Indiana State232189.5347
2025Indiana State711816.9275
2026North Carolina Central3−1−0.300
Career363539.8575

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. * That team-season’s player lines are missing part of the team’s yards in our source, so these numbers may be short.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosClassHtWt
2022Indiana State8RBYr 1
2023Indiana State8RBYr 2
2024Indiana State8RBYr 3
2025Indiana State8RBYr 4
2026North Carolina Central8RBSr. (Yr 5)5′9″202

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsage
2023Indiana State (FCS)1060.0826th (n=450)0.178.819%
2024Indiana State (FCS)120-0.048th (n=434)0.16-4.218%
2025Indiana State (FCS)560.21––11.618%
2026North Carolina Central (FCS)590.1459th (n=478)0.108.319%

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2026 North Carolina Central 5 games, 317 rushing yards, 4 TD
DateOpponentResultCarYdsTDLongRecRec yds
Aug 29atTexas SouthernL 30–⁠42104008––
Sep 5vs.Elizabeth City StateW 27–⁠641405––
Sep 12vs.North Carolina A&TW 30–⁠222221037310
Sep 19atGardner-WebbL 20–⁠44959151––
Sep 26atEast CarolinaL 9–⁠429−6032−1
2025 Indiana State 6 games, 252 rushing yards, 3 TD
DateOpponentResultCarYdsTDLongRecRec yds
Aug 28vs.McKendreeW 41–⁠2421133226492
Sep 6vs.Eastern IllinoisW 38–⁠14101016119
Sep 12atIndianaL 0–⁠736110131−2
Sep 20atMontanaL 20–⁠63155701219
Oct 25atNorth DakotaL 17–⁠46537032––
Nov 1atSouth Dakota StateW 24–⁠122404––
2024 Indiana State 11 games, 412 rushing yards, 3 TD
DateOpponentResultCarYdsTDLongRecRec yds
Aug 31atPurdueL 0–⁠491227010––
Sep 7atEastern IllinoisL 20–⁠2791308741
Sep 14vs.DaytonW 24–⁠13115041−1
Sep 28vs.Houston ChristianL 24–⁠2717160189522
Oct 5atYoungstown StateL 14–⁠217307484
Oct 12vs.Murray StateW 31–⁠27735125326
Oct 19atMissouri StateL 21–⁠4682201417
Oct 26vs.Southern IllinoisW 20–⁠1717420810
Nov 2vs.North DakotaW 35–⁠3114100153139
Nov 9atSouth DakotaL 0–⁠494201––
Nov 23atNorthern IowaL 34–⁠411303––
2023 Indiana State 9 games, 502 rushing yards, 3 TD
DateOpponentResultCarYdsTDLongRecRec yds
Sep 16atBall StateL 7–⁠45639039––
Sep 30atMurray StateL 28–⁠302920333114
Oct 7vs.Northern IowaL 20–⁠2781801412
Oct 14atIllinois StateL 7–⁠441039012––
Oct 21vs.South DakotaL 3–⁠17123408112
Oct 28atNorth DakotaL 33–⁠36736016––
Nov 4vs.Youngstown StateL 7–⁠19741029––
Nov 11vs.Western IllinoisW 27–⁠61560018––
Nov 18atSouthern IllinoisL 9–⁠381032015––
2022 Indiana State 1 game, 14 rushing yards
DateOpponentResultCarYdsTDLongRecRec yds
Nov 5vs.North DakotaL 7–⁠4231409––

No box score in the source for Oct 29 at South Dakota State, so that game is not listed.

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.