Jelani Thurman

#45 · TE · R-Jr. · North Carolina6′6″ · 245 lb · Fairburn, GA · Langston Hughes

Receiving yards4615th of 107 tight endsLast gameL 35–38vs Miami · Oct 31
Nextat UConnSat Nov 7 · 12 pm ET
via goheels.com ↗
461 receiving yards in 8 games; their best was 94 against TCU.
Game 1: against TCU, win 15-10, 94 receiving yards94 · season highWTCUGame 2: against East Tennessee State, win 35-3, 71 receiving yards, 1 touchdown, FCS opponent71WETSUFCSGame 3: at Clemson, loss 20-28, 18 receiving yards18LCLEM@Game 4: against Notre Dame, loss 26-37, 50 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns50LNDGame 5: at Pittsburgh, win 21-17, 29 receiving yards, 1 touchdown29WPITT@Game 6: at Duke, win 24-20, 52 receiving yards52WDUKE@Game 7: against Syracuse, loss 30-31, 77 receiving yards77LSYRGame 8: against Miami, loss 35-38, 70 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns70LMIA
Game 1: against TCU, win 15-10, 94 receiving yards94 · season highWTCUGame 2: against East Tennessee State, win 35-3, 71 receiving yards, 1 touchdown, FCS opponentWETSUFCSGame 3: at Clemson, loss 20-28, 18 receiving yardsLCLEM@Game 4: against Notre Dame, loss 26-37, 50 receiving yards, 2 touchdownsLNDGame 5: at Pittsburgh, win 21-17, 29 receiving yards, 1 touchdownWPITT@Game 6: at Duke, win 24-20, 52 receiving yardsWDUKE@Game 7: against Syracuse, loss 30-31, 77 receiving yardsLSYRGame 8: against Miami, loss 35-38, 70 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns70LMIA
  • touchdown

Miami · L 35-38

5 catches, 70 yards, 2 TD

The other 7 games average 56 yards. This one was 14 above.

Open this game

Dashed line: 100 yards.

This week

What’s being said

6 stories in the last 60 days, from 4 outlets.

Sep 10 to Sep 16: 1Sep 24 to Sep 30: 1Oct 1 to Oct 7: 1Oct 22 to Oct 28: 1Oct 29 to Nov 4: 1W 35-3 vs East Tennessee StateWL 20-28 at ClemsonLL 26-37 vs Notre DameLW 21-17 at PittsburghWW 24-20 at DukeWL 30-31 vs SyracuseLL 35-38 vs MiamiLSep 10Nov 4Most in a week: 1
Sep 10 to Sep 16: 1Sep 24 to Sep 30: 1Oct 1 to Oct 7: 1Oct 22 to Oct 28: 1Oct 29 to Nov 4: 1W 35-3 vs East Tennessee StateWL 20-28 at ClemsonLL 26-37 vs Notre DameLW 21-17 at PittsburghWW 24-20 at DukeWL 30-31 vs SyracuseLL 35-38 vs MiamiLSep 10Nov 4Most in a week: 1
Stories per week. W and L: the team’s results.

Jelani Thurman Showing Complete Skill Set in Expanded UNC Role

On3 +1 Oct 1

All 15 stories this season

Worth knowing

  • Jelani Thurman spent three seasons at Ohio State before this one.
  • Jelani Thurman has 67 receiving yards a game at home, 48.2 on the road.

His most important play this season

  1. Q2, 1:56 · North Carolina down 7, ties itBilly Edwards finds Jelani Thurman for an 8-yard touchdownMiami at North Carolina, week 9Q2, 1:56 · North Carolina 14, Miami 14North Carolina tied the game in the second quarterNorth Carolina tied the game in the second quarterB.Edwards Jr. pass complete short middle to J.Thurman caught at MIA00, for 8 yards to the MIA00 touchdown, kick goodWatch from this playESPN College Football

All 5 of his plays on video

25% of the catches, 24% of the yards, 40% of the touchdowns

  • Catches25%38 of 152
  • Yards24%461 of 1,893
  • Touchdowns40%6 of 15
  • A touchdown every 6.3 catches. Everyone else on the team: one every 12.7.

Share of the team's receiving yards, game by game

Who caught the team's passes

Share of the team's total this season.

Every catch and target this season

1020304035
leftmiddleright
a catch, dashed to the catch point then solid afterthrown to him, incomplete

Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed. Of his catches with a spot in the play text: left 8, middle 14, right 11.

Jelani Thurman

TE · North Carolina · #45

Filling the Shoesas of Nov 4

Jelani Thurman takes over from Jake Johnson at North Carolina.

461receiving yards38catches6receiving TD

4★ · NATIONAL RECRUIT

No.105

recruiting national rank

Read the story so far

Jelani Thurman arrived as a 4-star prospect, the No.105 recruit nationally. Jelani Thurman lines up at TE for North Carolina.

On the field, the headline is 461 rec yds, with 38 rec.

Jelani Thurman inherited the TE job from Jake Johnson (4-star).

The number to watch: No.105 — 4★ · national recruit.

TE successionleap of faith
  • Inherited fromJake Johnson 4★
  • Pushed byShamar Easter 4★
  • How many games until Shamar Easter (4★) takes the job from Jelani Thurman?

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04

Style of play

Style of play

Play style

Shows up in the passing game from any alignment.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.