Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
1/21Inside-5 share
1 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (4.8%).
- touchdown
Arizona · W 28-17
No carries.
UCF · L 31-39
No carries.
Arizona State · W 27-20
2 carries, 2 yards
The other 5 games average 36 yards. This one was 34 below.
Tonga has carries in 6 of BYU’s 8 games: none against Arizona and UCF.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
This week
- RecordBYU is 7-1, No. 7 in the AP poll (week 10).
- From the game thread
“We need a spark at RB. Eka and Tonga have burst. Give them a chance.”
- Next gameat Utah · Sat Nov 7
His most important play this season
Journee Tonga
On tape: 91 rushing yards against Colorado State, Week 3, 2026.
184 rushing yards · 2 rushing TD · 32 carries
Style of play
Style of play
What fans said
Fans first named Journee Tonga vs Utah Tech.
- How much fans talked in a game against the usual
- The usual, named once in the key
- A fan first, numbered by kind (1 first named)
vs Notre Dame, Oct 17TONGA THAT MAN HAD A FAMILYBYU fan, r/CFB game thread
vs Iowa State, Oct 9Tonga just does not have that downhill power run in him.BYU fan, r/CFB game thread
at TCU, Oct 3Huge LDS populations in Tonga and Samoa.BYU fan, r/CFB game thread
Named in
Where to follow
The latest game
Against Arizona State on Oct. 31: 2 carries for 2 yards. In the 6 games drawn here: 32 carries for 184 yards.
First quarterSecond quarterThird quarterFourth quarter
- W 27-20 vs Arizona State2 carries, 2 yds
- W 28-24 vs Notre Dame3 carries, 6 yds
- W 24-10 vs Iowa State8 carries, 19 yds, 1 TD
- W 17-10 at TCU7 carries, 28 yds
- W 41-23 at Colorado State10 carries, 91 yds
- W 63-7 vs Utah Tech2 carries, 38 yds, 1 TD
a carry, by its yardsa loss, below the linea catcha touchdown
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.
“Tonga's teammates are totally gonna give him a hard time about being chased down by a defensive lineman.”BYU fan, r/CFB game thread, after his 12-yard run against Colorado State. Fans named him again and again right after.
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | BYU | 32 | 184 | 5.8 | 2 | 38 |
| Career | 32 | 184 | 5.8 | 2 | 38 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | BYU | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 13 |
| Career | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 13 |
Last game (Wk 9): 2 rushing yards.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 63-7vs Utah Tech | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 1 | 34 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-23@ Colorado State | 10 | 91 | 9.1 | 0 | 38 | Season-high 91 yds |
| Wk 5 | W 17-10@ TCU | 7 | 28 | 4.0 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 6 | W 24-10vs Iowa State | 8 | 19 | 2.4 | 1 | 6 | |
| Wk 7 | W 28-24vs No. 2 Notre Dame | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 9 | W 27-20vs Arizona State | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Total | 32 | 184 | 5.8 | 2 | 38 |
Signature game
Week 1 · 2026
W 63-7
vs Utah Tech
38 rush yds (2 car) · 1 TD
Dominant 56-point win at home against Utah Tech.
With C. DeVries — 1 tackle · 1 defensive TD · B. Bachmeier — 198 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 30 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 6 · Iowa State · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA −4.93J.Tonga rush middle for 0 yards (B.Esser), TURNOVER ON DOWNS
- Week 3 · Colorado State · 2nd and 9 · Q4 · EPA +3.30J.Tonga rush right for 38 yards gain (B.Kelley)
- Week 6 · Iowa State · 2nd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +2.53J.Tonga rush left for 6 yards gain for a touchdown
- Week 1 · Utah Tech · 1st and 4 · Q3 · EPA +1.69J.Tonga rush middle for 4 yards gain for a touchdown
- Week 1 · Utah Tech · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.41J.Tonga rush middle for 34 yards gain (R.Jones II)
- Week 3 · Colorado State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.32J.Tonga rush left for 14 yards gain (A.Turner; T.Moore)
4 more plays
- Week 5 · TCU · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −1.14J.Tonga rush right for 0 yards (H.Hooper)
- Week 3 · Colorado State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.12J.Tonga rush middle for 9 yards gain (K.Potts)
- Week 6 · Iowa State · 3rd and 2 · Q2 · EPA −0.92J.Tonga rush middle for 1 yard gain (C.Willich; J.Janikowski)
- Week 3 · Colorado State · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA −0.85J.Tonga rush middle for 1 yard gain (J.King; D.Manuel)
Where he ranks
Opponents faced, by strength
Ratings of the games shown run from -8 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Teams and coaches
2026BYU7-1HC: Kalani Sitake · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 16.2 | 6.1 | 0.5 |
| Road2g | 59.5 | 6.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 36.4 | 7.3 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kalani Sitake
Pass share
47.3%
248 pass / 276 run
Plays / game
65.5
8 games
Team sack rate
2.6%
230 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
32 carries and 2 catches in 6 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
38 · #245 of 330 RBs · through 6 games
First season at BYU, 6 games
- 2026 BYU SitakeYear 1 · 6 games