#24

Elijah Porter

Sophomore running back for Northern Illinois. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.

RB · Northern Illinois · So. · #24

5′11″ · 202 lb · Ankeny, IA

Returning to Northern Illinois for 2026

Next upSat Sep 19 · 10:30 pm ETat ArizonaArizona StadiumArizona by 34.5

How he plays

Yards / carry: 60th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

rushing yards · 2026

5.1 per carry · 2 catches

2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 35 rush yds, 9 rec yds, vs Illinois State

His career numbers, season by season

The story

2 running back for Northern Illinois. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.

His career, year by year

Elijah Porter

RB · Northern Illinois · So · #24

Two seasons at Northern Illinois, two different head coaches: Thomas Hammock and Rob Harley. The receipt on tape: 35 rush yds, 9 rec yds against Illinois State, Week 2, 2026.

41 RUSH YDS · 0 RUSH TD · 8 CARRIES

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

season totals
head-coach lineage
game log

2026 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2025Northern Illinois3-9HC: Thomas Hammock · Run-heavy, slow tempo

2026Northern Illinois0-2HC: Rob Harley · Run-leaning, slow tempo

Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort

Box-score percentiles

7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: rush yards (0th percentile).

Box-score rates (7)

Yards / carry#7 / 15 · 60th pct

5.1

Receptions#12 / 15 · 17th pct

Long run#14 / 15 · 13th pct

Rec yards#14 / 15 · 13th pct

Rush TDs#13 / 15 · 10th pct

Rush yards#16 / 15 · 0th pct

Carries#16 / 15 · 0th pct

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Splits & context

Splits

Per-game splits

Through 2 games: 20.5 YDS/g, 4.5 YPC, 0.0 TD/g — splits start at 3 games.

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Rob Harley

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

Awards

Player standing · 2026

Backup

On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2026	Northern Illinois	8	41	5.1	--
2025	Northern Illinois	12	80	6.7	--
Career		20	121	6.0	--

Season	Team
2026	Northern Illinois	2	9	4.5	0	--
2025	Northern Illinois	1	67	67.0	1	--
Career		3	76	25.3	1	--

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 2 · Illinois State · 2&5 · Q4 · EPA +1.41(09:11) No Huddle-Shotgun #24 E.Porter rush middle for 18 yards gain to the ISU02 (#3 J.Coleman; #32 W.Mueller), 1ST DOWN
Week 2 · Illinois State · 1&20 · Q4 · EPA +1.22(09:40) No Huddle-Shotgun #24 E.Porter rush middle for 15 yards gain to the ISU20 (#3 J.Coleman)
Week 1 · Iowa · 2&5 · Q3 · EPA -0.76(00:06) Shotgun #24 E.Porter rush middle for 1 yard gain to the Iowa38 (#91 D.Kennedy; #31 N.DeLong)
Week 2 · Illinois State · 1&2 · Q4 · EPA -0.69(08:28) No Huddle-Shotgun #24 E.Porter rush middle for 1 yard gain to the ISU01 (#46 T.Niekamp; #91 B.Harman)
Week 2 · Illinois State · 2&1 · Q4 · EPA -0.55(07:56) No Huddle-Shotgun #24 E.Porter rush middle for 0 yards to the ISU01 (#44 D.Niekamp; #13 J.Oliver)
Week 2 · Illinois State · 2&20 · Q2 · EPA -0.38(07:53) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 T.Dickens pass complete short left to #24 E.Porter caught at ISU39, for 3 yards to the ISU33 (#6 S.Oduma; #46 T.Niekamp)
Week 1 · Iowa · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -0.37(12:58) Shotgun #24 E.Porter rush middle for 1 yard gain to the NIU16 (#92 B.Stevenson)
Week 2 · Illinois State · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -0.26(09:56) No Huddle-Shotgun #24 E.Porter rush middle for 1 yard gain to the ISU16 (#46 T.Niekamp; #97 A.Cannon)
Week 1 · Iowa · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -0.16(11:34) Shotgun #24 E.Porter rush middle for 4 yards gain to the NIU41 (#36 J.Montgomery)
Week 2 · Illinois State · 3&13 · Q1 · EPA +0.06(04:50) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 T.Dickens pass complete short left to #24 E.Porter caught at NIU26, for 6 yards to the NIU33 (#46 T.Niekamp; #3 J.Coleman)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 2 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 0-40@ Iowa	3	6	2.0	4
Wk 2	L 24-28vs Illinois State	5	35	7.0	18	Season-high 35 yds
Total		8	41	4.5	18

The backfield · Northern Illinois

#45Telly Johnson Jr.RB · Jr.690 rushing yards · 2025
#24Elijah PorterRB · So.80 rushing yards · 2025
#11Romelo WareRB · So.1 rushing yard · 2025
#8Triston WhiteRB · Fr.1 game · 2026
#30Da'sean HowardRB · Fr.no box-score line yet

2 more on the roster · Northern Illinois team page

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