Makhi Hughes – Devy Profile

Makhi Hughes | RB | Tulane | 5’11”, 210 lbs.

Welcome back, Devy fans! For today’s article, I’m bringing you a young man I can almost guarantee isn’t rostered in your current Devy leagues. Redshirt sophomore RB Makhi Hughes has quietly put together two highly productive seasons for the Green Wave, and may just be one of the most underrated rushers in college football today. Allow me to break down Hughes’ resume, covering everything from his high school days to his college analytics and film takeaways. 

High School

Makhi Hughes was a 3-star recruit on ESPN in 2021, coming out of Huffman High School in Birmingham, AL. He first emerged as a future college talent during his junior season, appearing in six contests and seeing 139 carries for 1,065 yards and nine touchdowns. He had a truly incredible breakout senior year, finishing the 2021-22 season with 1,680 rush yards and TWENTY touchdowns in just ten games, averaging 8.0 YPC. These gaudy high school numbers earned Hughes several big name offers, including Florida State and Kansas. Makhi ultimately landed in Louisiana to play for the Green Wave of Tulane.

Tulane (2022-Present)

Hughes sat out his entire true freshman season due to injury, so his first taste of college football came in 2023 as a redshirt freshman. The young back from Alabama did not disappoint, immediately earning the starting RB role for Tulane and posting some massive numbers right out the gate. Hughes ended his redshirt freshman campaign with 1,378 rush yards and seven touchdowns, adding 11 receptions for 67 yards as well. Hughes was named a freshman All-American and the AAC rookie of the year following the 2023 season. 

This year, Makhi picked up right where he left off in 2023, continuing to be the engine that runs this Green Wave offense. Hughes posted 265 carries for over 1,400 yards and 15 scores in 2024, tacking on 19 receptions for 176 yards and 2 receiving scores. He was once again named first-team All-AAC. Hughes finished the season with seven games over the century mark on the ground. One of his best performances came against #17 Kansas State, amassing 128 yards on the ground and 37 through the air, while finding the endzone once. 

Analytics

Let’s take a look at some of Makhi Hughe’s 2024 analytics to see how he fared amongst the top rushers in the nation. 

As you can see from these numbers, Makhi Hughes was used as a workhorse back, and found a lot of success in his role, near the top of the country in rush yards, run grade, and missed tackles forced. His least impressive marks pertain more to his agility and burst, finishing outside the Top 50 in yards after contact, breakaway percentage, and elusiveness. 

Maybe the most impressive stat is the fact that Makhi Hughes has rushed the ball 520 times in college and fumbled it ZERO times. That level of ball security will not go unnoticed amongst NFL scouts. 

Film

One thing that sticks out immediately when watching Makhi Hughe’s film is his downhill rushing style and his low pad level. He’s more of a one-cut rusher than someone who is going to dance around in the backfield. Typically, he wastes no time finding his hole and bursting through the gap. Hughes has an excellent stiff arm, which seems to be his go-to move when he’s out into open space. He does display some ability to manipulate defenders with quick cuts, but he’s not going to “wow” you with his agility or lateral quickness. Hughes keeps his legs moving through contact and often is able to move big piles for an extra couple of yards. 

We mentioned earlier about Hughe’s excellent ball security. You can tell he holds the ball tightly to his chest, but it almost looks awkward at times, especially on breakaway runs. It appears as though he’s focused too closely on holding onto the football which results in him running with a certain stiffness. He doesn’t have breakaway speed and can often get caught from behind. Draftscout.com projects Hughe’s 40-time to be somewhere in the 4.50-4.60 range, which feels about right. He has some strength and toughness to him, but his big-play ability is capped. 

Conclusion

Being a redshirt sophomore, Makhi Hughes could technically declare for the 2025 NFL Draft. However, with this RB class being as deep as it is, Hughes will be best served to stay in college for at least one more season. If he can put together another 1,500 rush yard, 15 TD season for the Green Wave while increasing his role as a pass catcher, he could turn into a potential Top 5 RB in the 2026 Draft class. Keep an eye on Hughes this coming season; he may be worth a late round dart throw in your supplemental Devy drafts this offseason. His size, strength, and production profile could make him a legitimate Dynasty asset one day. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding