J.J. Taylor: RB · Arizona · #21.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
J.J. Taylor
Wins in space out of the backfield. Played for two head coaches in four seasons at Arizona. A game that shows it: 107 rushing yards and 53 receiving yards against Stanford — Week 9, 2019.
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 17.1% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 12.9% of his carries. 1 carry for 4 yds vs Colorado; 16 for 107 vs Stanford.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2019 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 38-45@ Hawai'i | 14 | 67 | 4.8 | 1 | 24 | |
| Wk 2 | W 65-41vs Northern Arizona | 10 | 102 | 10.2 | 1 | 40 | |
| Wk 3 | W 28-14vs Texas Tech | 11 | 39 | 3.5 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 6 | W 35-30@ Colorado | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 7 | L 27-51vs Washington | 18 | 89 | 4.9 | 1 | 16 | |
| Wk 8 | L 14-41@ USC | 16 | 80 | 5.0 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 9 | L 31-41@ Stanford | 16 | 107 | 6.7 | 0 | 18 | Season-high 107 yds |
| Wk 10 | L 38-56vs Oregon State | 21 | 78 | 3.7 | 2 | 12 | |
| Wk 12 | L 6-34@ No. 6 Oregon | 17 | 74 | 4.4 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 13 | L 7-35vs No. 7 Utah | 10 | 33 | 3.3 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 14 | L 14-24@ Arizona State | 14 | 48 | 3.4 | 0 | 11 | |
| Total | 148 | 721 | 4.9 | 5 | 40 |
Week 10 · 2019
L 38-56
vs Oregon State
7 rec · 89 yds · 78 rush yds (21 car) · 2 TD
With G. Gunnell — 269 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · 17 rush yds (7 car) · G. Brightwell — 54 rush yds (10 car) · 1 TD · 1 rec · 38 yds · 1 TD
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
45%147 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.9 yds/carry on 148 carries · 18% explosive (10+ yds) · 45% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2019 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 68.2 | 5.1 | 0.8 |
| Road6g | 63.3 | 4.7 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 60.2 | 5.5 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 70.0 | 4.4 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kevin Sumlin
Pass share
48.6%
422 pass / 446 run
Plays / game
72.3
12 games
Team sack rate
7.0%
460 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2019
148 carries and 32 catches in 11 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Arizona, 3,260 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 40 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2016–2019
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Rich Rodriguez → Kevin Sumlin. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
