Northern Illinois · W 31-24
16 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD
The other 7 games average 78 yards. This one was 36 above.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Thomas against UNLV’s best seasons, game by game
Backs who run like Thomas, and how their seasons went
Thomas against this year’s top backs, game by game
The road ahead: 657 yards, 82 a game, 4 regular-season games left.
No bar in a game where the team had under 100 rushing yards: a share of that little says nothing.
Share of the team's total this season.
Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of his carries with a spot in the play text: left 24, middle 72, right 32. His longest went for 60 yards.
Jai'Den Thomas
Jai'Den Thomas is a cornerstone for UNLV — measured against the line Jai'Den Thomas joined.
PERCEPTION ABOVE TAPE · PCTL GAP
-35
perception vs production percentile · 2026
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04
Play style
Wins in space out of the backfield.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 27.4% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 11.1% of his carries. 9 carries for 34 yds vs North Texas; 20 for 143 vs Hawai'i.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
44.2% of carries overall (126/285) → 44.4% of Q4-with-lead carries (24/54) — 83.3% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Aura™ · Him Watch
Aura compares how much fans talk about this player with how well this player plays, each ranked among RBs.
+35aura tax
4th percentile our rushing-value metric (weighted expected points added) ranked among 104 RBs
— the talk ranks higher than the play.Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 114 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 4 catches.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-27vs Memphis | 12 | 44 | 3.7 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 1 | W 21-6@ Hawai'i | 20 | 143 | 7.2 | 1 | 50 | |
| Wk 2 | L 6-44@ North Texas | 10 | 37 | 3.7 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-10@ Akron | 15 | 113 | 7.5 | 1 | 30 | |
| Wk 5 | W 39-31vs California | 16 | 46 | 2.9 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 6 | W 13-7vs North Dakota State | 22 | 112 | 5.1 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 7 | L 31-41@ Air Force | 17 | 48 | 2.8 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-24vs Northern Illinois | 16 | 114 | 7.1 | 1 | 60 | |
| Total | 128 | 657 | 5.1 | 4 | 60 |
Oct. 31 · W 31-24 vs Northern Illinois, play by play
16 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, with UNLV ahead by one score, he carried 5 times for 20 yards. He also caught 4 passes for 27 yards.
Incomplete on 3rd and 3. First quarter, tied 7-7.
60-yard touchdown run. Third quarter, made it 31-17.
5-yard catch on 3rd and 23. Third quarter, up 31-24.
17 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 5 passes for 32 yards.
12-yard run. Fourth quarter, down 41-24.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
22 carries for 112 yards. In the fourth quarter, with UNLV ahead by one score, he carried 4 times for 15 yards.
Incomplete on 3rd and 9. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2-yard catch on 3rd and 6. First quarter, up 7-0.
15-yard run. Third quarter, tied 7-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
16 carries for 46 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a 7-yard run in the first quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 15 carries it has.
Incomplete on 3rd and 10. First quarter, tied 0-0.
No gain on 3rd and 16. First quarter, tied 7-7.
10-yard run. Second quarter, up 14-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
15 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 3 passes for 54 yards.
40-yard touchdown on 3rd and 3. First quarter, made it 7-7.
2-yard touchdown on 4th and 1. Second quarter, made it 14-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
10 carries for 37 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter, which the play text shows; the chart draws the 9 carries it has.
8-yard run. Third quarter, down 27-3.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
20 carries for 143 yards and a touchdown, his most this season. 5 of his 20 carries went 10 yards or more; the longest went 50.
2-yard loss on 3rd and 2. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2-yard catch on 3rd and 6. Second quarter, up 7-3.
50-yard touchdown run. Fourth quarter, made it 21-6.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
12 carries for 44 yards. He also caught 6 passes for 54 yards.
13-yard catch on 3rd and 23. First quarter, tied 0-0.
25-yard catch on 4th and 3. Second quarter, tied 7-7. Converted.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 4 · 2026
W 38-10
at Akron
113 rush yds (15 car) · 1 TD · 3 rec · 54 yds · 2 TD
Dominant 28-point win on the road against Akron.
With J. Arnold — 290 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 85.2 · 28 rush yds (7 car) · E. Schwartz — 51.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
38th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +9 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
36%126 carriesFumble rate
0.8%1 of 128 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.1 yds/carry on 128 carries · 13% explosive (10+ yds) · 36% success rate.
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
3717% of team targetsCatch rate
62%23 of 37 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
62% catch rate on 37 targets · 17% of the team's targets.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 79.0 | 4.7 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 85.2 | 5.3 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 77.6 | 4.7 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 114 | 7.1 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dan Mullen
Pass share
42.2%
218 pass / 298 run
Plays / game
64.5
8 games
Team sack rate
6.6%
258 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Mountain West
Based on 2025: #1 of 34 Mountain West RBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 49% of returning players who ranked #1–3 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 43–54%).
2026 is in progress.
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST · 1ST TEAM
All-Mountain West 1st team (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2023)
Mountain West Freshman Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Barry Odom → Dan Mullen. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
CBS Sports College Football
