Nevada · W 27-0
5 carries, 29 yards
The other 7 games average 34 yards. This one was 5 below.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
3 stories in the last 30 days, from 2 outlets.
Bruin Insider Show - Jaivian Thomas
UCLA Bruins Oct 28
Jaivian Thomas
Played for three head coaches across four seasons and two programs. A game that shows it: 58 rushing yards and 9 receiving yards against Purdue — Week 3, 2026.
270 rushing yards · 4 rushing TD · 56 carries
Play style
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
17.9% of carries overall (55/307) → 17.6% of Q4-with-lead carries (16/91) — 62.5% 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
4 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (19.0%).
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 2 outlets
Bruin Insider Show - Jaivian Thomas
UCLA Bruins Oct 28 · 1 outlet
from 3 outlets
Bruin Insider Show - Jaivian Thomas
UCLA Bruins Oct 28 · 1 outlet
UCLA Bruins
FOX Sports
On3Each week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
UCLA6 stories2025 to nowMost about: in his words, performance and stat line, profile and feature.
UCLA BruinsUCLA Football Media Availability - Rodrick Pleasant and Jaivian Thomas (Aug. 31, 2026)Aug 31On3Ucla's Rodrick Pleasant and Jaivian Thomas on Cal, the Matchups, Game Atmosphere (with transcript)Aug 31FOX SportsJaivian Thomas punches in three-yard TD to extend UCLA's lead over MarylandSep 26UCLA BruinsUCLA Football Media Availability - Jaivian Thomas (Oct. 26, 2026)Oct 26On3UCLA RB Jaivian Thomas On Bouncing Back from Fumbles, the "Three-Headed Monster" and MoreOct 26
California2023 to 2024not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Jaivian Thomas vs San Diego State.
Against Nevada on Oct. 31: 5 carries for 29 yards. In the 8 games drawn here: 56 carries for 270 yards.
Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UCLA | 56 | 270 | 4.8 | 4 | 18 |
| 2025 | UCLA | 82 | 306 | 3.7 | 1 | 32 |
| 2024 | California | 100 | 626 | 6.3 | 7 | 75 |
| 2023 | California | 18 | 110 | 6.1 | 1 | 27 |
| Career | 256 | 1,312 | 5.1 | 13 | 75 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UCLA | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 0 | 11 |
| 2025 | UCLA | 10 | 64 | 6.4 | 0 | 12 |
| 2024 | California | 11 | 91 | 8.3 | 0 | 56 |
| 2023 | California | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 1 | 13 |
| Career | 27 | 203 | 7.5 | 1 | 56 |
Last game (Wk 9): 29 rushing yards, 1 catch.
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 | W 45-24@ California | 5 | 41 | 8.2 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-10vs San Diego State | 7 | 32 | 4.6 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 3 | W 52-38vs Purdue | 9 | 58 | 6.4 | 1 | 18 | Season-high 58 yds |
| Wk 4 | W 54-3@ Maryland | 7 | 24 | 3.4 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 6 | W 17-15@ No. 13 Oregon | 4 | 8 | 2.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 7 | W 17-7vs Wisconsin | 9 | 37 | 4.1 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 8 | W 28-10vs Michigan State | 10 | 41 | 4.1 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 9 | W 27-0vs Nevada | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 0 | 12 | |
| Total | 56 | 270 | 4.8 | 4 | 18 |
Week 3 · 2026
W 52-38
vs Purdue
58 rush yds (9 car) · 1 TD
Edged out Purdue at home in a shootout.
With N. Iamaleava — 276 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 83.0 · 55 rush yds (7 car) · W. Knight — 177 rush yds (18 car) · 2 TD · 3 rec · 23 yds
The plays that mattered most
248th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Ratings of the games shown run from -9 to +17 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
54%56 carriesFumble rate
1.8%1 of 56 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.8 yds/carry on 56 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 54% success rate.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 39.4 | 5.0 | 0.6 |
| Road3g | 24.3 | 4.5 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 33.3 | 4.8 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 35.0 | 4.9 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bob Chesney
Pass share
40.8%
218 pass / 316 run
Plays / game
66.8
8 games
Team sack rate
4.6%
241 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #209 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #41 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%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 37 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Justin Wilcox, Deshaun Foster, Tim Skipper and Bob Chesney.
CBS Sports College Football
