#26

Brandon Hood

Sophomore running back for Southern Miss. 2025: 368 rushing yards, 2 rushing TD, 11 catches.

RB · Southern Miss · So. · #26

5′10″ · 200 lb · Conyers, GA · Eagles Landing Christian Academy

CFB Index 32 · #299 of 326 RBsHigh confidenceTransferred Massachusetts → Southern Miss for 2026

via southernmiss.com ↗

Next upSat Sep 19 · 7 pm ETvs UConnM. M. Roberts StadiumUConn by 3

The numbers

368

rushing yards · 2025

2 TD · 3.8 per carry · 11 catches

Backed by 24 car · 179 yds · 1 TD -- top 1% rushing yards game.

The play that turned itSwung Bryant from 10% to 43% to win.Bryant at Massachusetts · 27-26

His career numbers, season by season

The story

2 running back for Southern Miss. 2025: 368 rushing yards, 2 rushing TD, 11 catches.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Colorado in 2024.
Transferred from Massachusetts to Southern Miss in 2026.

His career, year by year

How he plays

Does a little of everything without one standout trait.

Explosive rate: 47th percentile.

The full scouting read

Brandon Hood

RB · Southern Miss · So · #26

Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Brandon Hood has played for two head coaches across two seasons and two programs. The receipt on tape: 179 rush yds, 8 rec yds against Buffalo, Week 8, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
head-coach lineage
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2024Colorado9-4HC: Deion Sanders · Pass-leaning

2025Massachusetts0-12HC: Joe Harasymiak · Balanced

Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

32Below cohort / limited sample #299 of 326?

High confidence13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: long run (98th percentile). Concern: epa / carry (10th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Explosive rate#240 / 456 · 47th pct

5.9%

TD rate#299 / 456 · 34th pct

2.0%

Yards / carry#378 / 456 · 17th pct

4.1

Success rate#385 / 456 · 16th pct

36.0%

EPA / carry#411 / 456 · 10th pct

-0.08

Box-score rates (8)

Long run#8 / 349 · 98th pct

Carries#169 / 349 · 51st pct

Rec yards#171 / 338 · 49th pct

Receptions#179 / 338 · 45th pct

Rush yards#225 / 349 · 36th pct

368

Rush TDs#236 / 349 · 26th pct

Fumbles lost#154 / 201 · 14th pct

Yards / carry#315 / 349 · 9th pct

3.8

Season trend

EPA / carry— first qualifying season

Success rate— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Yards / carry— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Situational

Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)

Yardage DNA

101 carries

28%

Stuffed (≤0)

35%

Grind (1–3)

29%

Chunk (4–9)

Explosive (10+)

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Home6g	43.2	3.3	0.3
Road6g	18.2	1.9	0.0

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	17.7	2.2	0.2
Weeks 8+6g	43.7	3.1	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Blake Anderson

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Part-time starter

Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

32 · #299 of 326 RBs

Three-star recruit. Now #299 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Massachusetts	98	368	3.8	2	--
2024	Colorado	--	--	--	--	--
Career		98	368	3.8	2	--

Season	Team
2025	Massachusetts	11	88	8.0	0	--
2024	Colorado	--	--	--	--	--
Career		11	88	8.0	0	--

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 8 · Buffalo · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +6.79Brandon Hood 90 Yd Run (Derek Morris Kick)
Week 12 · Northern Illinois · 3&10 · Q1 · EPA +3.48(03:14) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 A.Hairston pass complete short middle to #26 B.Hood caught at UMass38, for 21 yards to the NIU42, out of bounds at NIU42, 1ST DOWN
Week 2 · Bryant · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +2.54Brandon Hood run for 13 yds for a TD (Derek Morris KICK)
Week 8 · Buffalo · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +2.19Brandon Hood run for 25 yds to the BUF 44 for a 1ST down
Week 13 · Ohio · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.80No Huddle-Shotgun #26 B.Hood rush middle for 20 yards gain to the UMass45 (#5 A.Williams Jr.), 1ST DOWN
Week 7 · Kent State · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -1.80Brandon Hood run for a loss of 3 yards to the MASS 44
Week 7 · Kent State · 3&6 · Q1 · EPA +1.79AJ Hairston pass complete to Brandon Hood for 8 yds to the MASS 37 for a 1ST down
Week 14 · Bowling Green · 4&1 · Q4 · EPA -1.76(12:54) No Huddle-Shotgun #26 B.Hood rush middle for 0 yards to the BGSU43 (#0 K.Pascal; #23 M.Bradley), TURNOVER ON DOWNS
Week 6 · Western Michigan · 3&20 · Q4 · EPA +1.73AJ Hairston pass complete to Brandon Hood for 15 yds to the WMU 13
Week 11 · Akron · 3&2 · Q1 · EPA +1.71(03:26) No Huddle-Shotgun #26 B.Hood rush middle for 8 yards gain to the AKRON45 (#17 M.DeWalt IV; #42 M.Spriggs), 1ST DOWN

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 10-42vs Temple	2	5	2.5	0	3
Wk 2	L 26-27vs Bryant	11	39	3.5	1	18
Wk 3	L 7-47@ Iowa	3	-2	-0.7	0	1
Wk 5	L 6-42@ Missouri	6	6	1.0	0	5
Wk 6	L 3-21vs Western Michigan	7	22	3.1	0	8
Wk 7	L 6-42@ Kent State	10	36	3.6	0	8
Wk 8	L 21-28vs Buffalo	24	179	7.5	1	90	Season-high 179 yds
Wk 9	L 13-38@ Central Michigan	6	12	2.0	0	4
Wk 11	L 10-44@ Akron	10	18	1.8	0	8
Wk 12	L 3-45vs Northern Illinois	4	5	1.3	0	5
Wk 13	L 14-42@ Ohio	10	39	3.9	0	20
Wk 14	L 14-45vs Bowling Green	5	9	1.8	0	4
Total		98	368	2.6	2	90

How he plays

Play style

Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.

CFB Index positional classification

Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape

Feast or famine

fact

101Carries

412Yards

41.5%Top-5 share

27.7%Stuffed rate

41.5% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — and he's stuffed on 27.7% of his carries. 3 carries for -2 yds vs Iowa; 24 for 179 vs Buffalo.

DNA match

Player DNA

Balanced Back

Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Javin Gordon’s 2025 season.

Javin Gordon

86%match

Tulane · 2025

King Doerue

Purdue · 2021

82%

Ja'shon Benjamin

Rutgers · 2023

80%

Jamale Carothers

Navy · 2020

80%

Carlos Davis

South Alabama · 2020

79%

Matches Javin on

Total rush EPA (college ability)

Receiving share

Recruiting rating

Differs from Javin on

Rush TD rate (lower)

Through 1 college season, his career arc tracks closest to Darius Wilson’s path through William & Mary.

Darius Wilson

98%match

William & Mary · 2024

Ryan Ingram

Chattanooga · 2025

97%

Javin Gordon

Tulane · 2025

91%

Aaron Young

Old Dominion · 2024

91%

Jon Denman

TCU · 2025

89%

Matches Darius on

Yards per carry

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Bryson Donelson's sophomore season at Fresno State (2025).

Bryson Donelson

75%match

Fresno State · 2025

King Doerue

Purdue · 2021

74%

Jaylon Glover

Utah · 2023

73%

Kirby Vorhees

Washington State · 2025

73%

Chavon Mceachern

Charlotte · 2021

72%

Matches Bryson on

Weight

Height

Rush TD rate

Differs from Bryson on

Class year (lower)

Recruiting rating (higher)

Player DNA

Players who play like Brandon Hood

Javin Gordon

Tulane · 2025

86%

Tory Blaylock

Oklahoma · 2025

76%

Jordan Lovett

Troy · 2025

74%

Jamarion Morrow

Texas A&M · 2025

70%

Background

2025 (R-Fr.): Rushed for 368 yards on 98 carries with a pair of touchdowns…Best game was a 178-yard performance versus Buffalo (10/18) with a 90-yard touchdown run…Posted a 13-yard scoring run against Bryant (9/6)…Added 11 catches for 88, including a long catch of 21 versus NIU (11/12)…2024 (Fr.)...

via southernmiss.com ↗

The backfield · Southern Miss

Jeffery PittmanRB · Jr.695 rushing yards · 2025
#26Brandon HoodRB · So.368 rushing yards · 2025
#5Matt JonesRB · Sr.325 rushing yards · 2025
#2Robert BriggsRB · Sr.304 rushing yards · 2025
#6Jamarice WilderRB · Fr.15 rushing yards · 2025

6 more on the roster · Southern Miss team page

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

2024

202512 games

2026

2025 snapshot

Situational

Splits & context

Awards

Part-time starter

Career stats

Signature plays

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Balanced Back

Players who play like Brandon Hood

Background

The backfield · Southern Miss