Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 15-10@ TCU | 5 | 33 | 6.6 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-3vs East Tennessee State | 5 | 40 | 8.0 | 0 | 12 | Season-high 40 yds |
| Total | 10 | 73 | 7.3 | 1 | 12 |
#27
Jaylen McGill
Sophomore running back for North Carolina. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
5′10″ · 200 lb · Spartanburg, SC · Mount View Prep
Watch-list name (model)Returning to North Carolina for 2026
The numbers
73
rushing yards · 2026
1 TD · 7.3 per carry · 1 catches
2 games into 2026 so far
Swing playSwung North Carolina from 30% to 56% to win.North Carolina at TCU · 15-10
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2 running back for North Carolina. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to North Carolina in 2025.
Jaylen McGill
This is his second year in the same backfield at North Carolina. One game to point at: 40 rush yds, 20 rec yds against East Tennessee State — Week 2, 2026.
73 RUSH YDS · 1 RUSH TD · 10 CARRIES
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
20258 games
- Signed with North Carolina3-star out of Mountain View Preparatory
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
North Carolina
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Bill Belichick, all balanced, slow tempo offenses — 6-8 over that span.
2025North Carolina4-8HC: Bill Belichick · Balanced, slow tempo
2026North Carolina2-0HC: Bill Belichick · Balanced, slow tempo
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: yards / carry (93rd percentile). Concern: rush yards (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (7)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 36.5 YDS/g, 7.3 YPC, 0.5 TD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bill Belichick
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Watch-list name (model)
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | North Carolina | 10 | 73 | 7.3 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | North Carolina | 7 | 19 | 2.7 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 17 | 92 | 5.4 | 1 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | North Carolina | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | -- |
| 2025 | North Carolina | 7 | 49 | 7.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 8 | 69 | 8.6 | 0 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 15–10
at TCU
33 rush yds (5 car) · 1 TD
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 5 on the road.
With B. Edwards — 232 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 77.2 · -4 rush yds (7 car) · A. Burrell — 28 LONG · 67 PCT · 7 PTS
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · TCU · 1&9 · Q1 · EPA +2.42(01:05) Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush left for 9 yards gain to the TCU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:04 #92 A.Burrell kick attempt good (H: #93 J.Horvath, LS: #48 G.Burt)
- Week 1 · TCU · 3&3 · Q2 · EPA +1.96(01:05) Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush left for 9 yards gain to the UNC45 (#22 J.Lester; #11 M.Short), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +0.84(08:40) Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush right for 11 yards gain to the UNC33 (#2 M.Jenkins), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +0.82(14:20) Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush left for 12 yards gain to the ETS40 (#33 D.Delinois), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +0.56(05:32) No Huddle-Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush left for 7 yards gain to the ETS41 (#33 D.Delinois)
- Week 1 · TCU · 2&10 · Q3 · EPA +0.53(01:29) No Huddle-Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush right for 7 yards gain to the UNC47 (#11 M.Short; #35 T.Johnson)
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +0.36(02:00) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short left to #27 J.McGill caught at ETS25, for 20 yards to the ETS09 (#17 K.Gillespie; #0 C.Woodard), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · TCU · 3&13 · Q1 · EPA +0.26(02:14) Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush middle for 6 yards gain to the TCU27 (#3 M.Carroll)
- Week 1 · TCU · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -0.19(02:51) No Huddle-Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush left for 2 yards gain to the UNC08 (#3 M.Carroll; #14 J.Schobel)
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 2&3 · Q3 · EPA +0.15(05:05) Shotgun #27 J.McGill rush right for 6 yards gain to the ETS35 (#7 E.Ware), 1ST DOWN
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
North Carolina
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Running back · North Carolina
Returning around him
- 28% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
- Transfer portal: -12 net (19 in / 31 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
North Carolina · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #28 · 2026 recruiting class #19
Background
2025 Freshman Season Total of 14 rushing yards with a season-long of 7 yards against Virginia 23 receiving yards wit ha season long of 15 against Virginia Prep / High School Attended Mount View Preparatory Running back ranked 26th amongst 2025 recruits in SC Multi-sport athlete in football, weigh...
The backfield · North Carolina
- Demon June464 rushing yards · 2025
- #7Benjamin Hall274 rushing yards · 2025
- #27Jaylen McGill19 rushing yards · 2025
- #5Kaleb Jackson16 rushing yards · 2025
- #23Charleston French3 rushing yards · 2025
3 more on the roster · North Carolina team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology