Elijah Tau-Tolliver is a running back who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Michigan State.
Tau-Tolliver wins in space out of the backfield. Arrived at Michigan State from Sacramento State. On tape: 127 rushing yards and 4 receiving yards against Minnesota, Week 10, 2025.
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
20.0% of carries overall (71/355) → 41.7% of Q4-with-lead carries (15/36) — 60.0% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
2 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (9.5%).
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Michigan State | 72 | 428 | 5.9 | 2 | 85 |
| Career | 72 | 428 | 5.9 | 2 | 85 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Michigan State | 18 | 139 | 7.7 | 0 | 32 |
| Career | 18 | 139 | 7.7 | 0 | 32 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 23-6vs Western Michigan | 8 | 17 | 2.1 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-40vs Boston College | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-24vs Youngstown State | 4 | 37 | 9.3 | 1 | 22 | |
| Wk 4 | L 31-45@ No. 25 USC | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 7 | L 13-38vs UCLA | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Wk 8 | L 13-38@ No. 3 Indiana | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 9 | L 20-31vs No. 25 Michigan | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 10 | L 20-23@ Minnesota | 11 | 127 | 11.5 | 0 | 85 | Season-high 127 yds |
| Wk 12 | L 10-28vs Penn State | 6 | 79 | 13.2 | 1 | 57 | |
| Wk 13 | L 17-20@ Iowa | 16 | 35 | 2.2 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 14 | W 38-28vs Maryland | 13 | 95 | 7.3 | 0 | 38 | |
| Total | 72 | 428 | 5.9 | 2 | 85 |
Week 12 · 2025
L 10-28
vs Penn State
79 rush yds (6 car) · 1 TD · 8 rec · 73 yds
With R. Eckley — 48.4 yards per punt · 5 punts · 3 inside the 20 · A. Milivojevic — 128 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 15.1
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
37%70 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.9 yds/carry on 72 carries · 11% explosive (10+ yds) · 37% success rate.
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
226% of team targetsCatch rate
82%18 of 22 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
82% catch rate on 22 targets · 6% of the team's targets.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 25.7 | 5.2 | 0.3 |
| Road4g | 44.8 | 4.6 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 12.2 | 3.3 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 61.2 | 6.7 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jonathan Smith
Pass share
49.7%
378 pass / 382 run
Plays / game
63.3
12 games
Team sack rate
8.0%
424 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #22 of 44 Big Ten RBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
