Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
10/19Inside-5 share
10 of the team's 19 inside-the-5 carries (52.6%).
La'Vell Wright
Rushing yards305181st of 278 running backsLast gameW 34–11vs Georgia Tech · Oct 31
Nextvs Florida StateFri Nov 13 · 7 pm ET
- touchdown
Bucknell · W 59-0 · FCS
No carries.
Georgia Tech · W 34-11
13 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD
The other 7 games average 36 yards. This one was 16 above.
Wright has carries in 8 of Pittsburgh’s 9 games: none against Bucknell.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
This week
- RecordPittsburgh is 6-3.
- Next gamevs Florida State · Fri Nov 13
His most important play this season
23% of the carries, 20% of the yards, 36% of the touchdowns
- Carries23%76 of 326
- Yards20%305 of 1,519
- Touchdowns36%5 of 14
- A touchdown every 15.2 carries. Everyone else on the team: one every 27.8.
Share of the team's rushing yards, game by game
No bar in a game where the team had under 100 rushing yards: a share of that little says nothing.
Who carried it
- Damon Ferguson Jr.662 yards, 123 carries, 6 touchdowns
- La'Vell Wright305 yards, 76 carries, 5 touchdowns
- Ja'Kyrian Turner131 yards, 30 carries, 1 touchdown
- Justin Cook114 yards, 12 carries, 1 touchdown
- Mason Heintschel112 yards, 30 carries, 1 touchdown
- 10 others195 yards
Share of the team's total this season.
La'Vell Wright
Played for three head coaches across four seasons and three programs. First career honor, 2025: Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week. One game to point at: 81 rushing yards and 5 receiving yards against Syracuse — Week 3, 2026.
305 rushing yards · 5 rushing TD · 76 carries
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Pittsburgh in the news
- Cornell coach Ed Dawson dies
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Oct 24
Where to follow
The latest game
Against Georgia Tech on Oct. 31: 1 catch for 10 yards. In the 3 games drawn here: 6 catches for 34 yards. Pittsburgh has thrown to him 8 times in 110 passes.
First quarterSecond quarterThird quarterFourth quarter
- W 34-11 vs Georgia Tech1 catch, 10 yds
- L 23-52 at Miami2 catches, 6 yds
- L 17-21 vs North Carolina3 catches, 18 yds
a catch, by its yardsa touchdownthrown to him, incomplete
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.
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Pittsburgh | 76 | 305 | 4.0 | 5 | 19 |
| 2025 | Western Kentucky | 85 | 471 | 5.5 | 10 | 39 |
| 2022 | Kentucky | 38 | 116 | 3.1 | 0 | 15 |
| 2021 | Kentucky | 9 | 118 | 13.1 | 1 | 52 |
| Career | 208 | 1,010 | 4.9 | 16 | 52 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Pittsburgh | 9 | 67 | 7.4 | 0 | 18 |
| 2025 | Western Kentucky | 10 | 88 | 8.8 | 1 | 22 |
| 2022 | Kentucky | 6 | 28 | 4.7 | 0 | 13 |
| 2021 | Kentucky | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 25 | 183 | 7.3 | 1 | 22 |
Last game (Wk 9): 52 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 catch.
Game log
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 59-14vs Miami (OH) | 4 | 25 | 6.3 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 2 | W 12-7vs UCF | 13 | 35 | 2.7 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 3 | W 27-13vs Syracuse | 14 | 81 | 5.8 | 1 | 16 | Season-high 81 yds |
| Wk 5 | W 35-33@ Virginia Tech | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-21vs North Carolina | 9 | 45 | 5.0 | 2 | 15 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-27@ Boston College | 15 | 52 | 3.5 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 8 | L 23-52@ No. 1 Miami | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 9 | W 34-11vs Georgia Tech | 13 | 52 | 4.0 | 1 | 19 | |
| Total | 76 | 305 | 4.0 | 5 | 19 |
Signature game
Week 6 · 2026
L 17-21
45 rush yds (9 car) · 2 TD · 3 rec · 18 yds
With H. Geriner — 219 yds · 0 TD · 2 INT · QBR 43.5 · G. Russo — 34.3 yards per punt · 3 punts · 1 inside the 20
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 6 · North Carolina · 4th and 2 · Q4 · EPA −4.07L.Wright rush right for 1 yard gain (D.McDonald), TURNOVER ON DOWNS. The previous play is under automatic review - "Short of the line to gain". CALL OVERTURNED. (Original Play: (02:03) L.Wright rush middle for 1 yard gain fumbled by L.Wright at UNC30 forced by D.McDonald recovered by UNC J.Thompson at UNC30 J.Thompson return 70 yards to the Pitt00 TOUCHDOWN)
- Week 3 · Syracuse · 2nd and 2 · Q1 · EPA +2.07L.Wright rush middle for 2 yards gain to the Cuse00 TOUCHDOWN
- Week 6 · North Carolina · 3rd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +1.98Geriner to Wright: a 10-yard pass.
- Week 5 · Virginia Tech · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA −1.86L.Wright rush right for 4 yards loss to the Hokies45 (K.Spencer)
- Week 9 · Georgia Tech · 4th and 2 · Q3 · EPA +1.81L.Wright rush right for 19 yards gain (J.Walker)
- Week 6 · North Carolina · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.63L.Wright rush left for 15 yards gain (G.Smith III), out of bounds. The previous play is under automatic review - "Short of the goal line". CALL UPHELD
4 more plays
- Week 5 · Virginia Tech · 3rd and 3 · Q2 · EPA +1.43L.Wright rush right for 3 yards gain to the Hokies02 (C.Chadwick, Jr.)
- Week 6 · North Carolina · 1st and 2 · Q1 · EPA +1.21L.Wright rush left for 2 yards gain for a touchdown
- Week 9 · Georgia Tech · 2nd and 12 · Q3 · EPA +1.19Geriner to Wright: a 10-yard pass.
- Week 6 · North Carolina · 3rd and 1 · Q1 · EPA +1.06L.Wright rush right for 9 yards gain (T.Miller; K.Cost), out of bounds
Where he ranks
Rush yards305181stAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Yards / carry4.0tied for 239thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Rush TDs5tied for 56thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Long run19tied for 250thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Carries76tied for 130thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Rec yards67tied for 121stAmong 273 backs with 40 or more carries
Receptions9tied for 108thAmong 273 backs with 40 or more carries
996th in receiving yards, among all 2,086 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position
Opponents faced, by strength
Ratings of the games shown run from -1 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Teams and coaches
2021Kentucky10-3HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning
2022Kentucky7-6HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025Western Kentucky9-4HC: Tyson Helton · Balanced
2026Pittsburgh6-3HC: Pat Narduzzi · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 47.6 | 4.8 | 0.8 |
| Road3g | 22.3 | 2.4 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 40.3 | 4.0 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 31.5 | 3.4 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Pass share
49.1%
315 pass / 326 run
Plays / game
71.2
9 games
Team sack rate
2.6%
345 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
76 carries and 9 catches in 8 games
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
45 · #179 of 330 RBs
Three-star recruit. Now #179 at the position.
Six seasons, four schools
2026 is in progress.
- 2026 Pittsburgh NarduzziYear 6 · 8 games
- Jan 2026 Entered the transfer portalWestern Kentucky to Pittsburgh
- 2025 Western Kentucky HeltonYear 5 · 13 games
- Dec 2024 Entered the transfer portalAustin Peay to Western Kentucky
- 2024 Austin PeayYear 4 · 1 game
- Apr 2024 Entered the transfer portalKentucky to Austin Peay
- 2023 Kentucky StoopsYear 3 · on the roster, no stat line
- 2022 Kentucky StoopsYear 2 · 7 games
- 2021 Kentucky StoopsYear 1 · 2 games
- High school North HardinRadcliff, KY · Class of 2021Three-star, No. 837 in the 2021 class. Signed with Kentucky.
Moves
- Transferred from Kentucky to Austin Peay, Apr 10, 2024.
- Transferred from Austin Peay to Western Kentucky, Dec 25, 2024.
- Transferred from Western Kentucky to Pittsburgh, Jan 10, 2026.
Played for four programs.
2021
- Signed with KentuckyThree-star, out of North Hardin
2024
The snaps went the other way.
- Transferred to Austin Peayfrom Kentucky
2025 13 games
The role got bigger.
- Transferred to Western Kentuckyfrom Austin Peay
2026 8 games
- Transferred to Pittsburghfrom Western Kentucky
Coaching lineage · 2021–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 3 schools: Mark Stoops, Tyson Helton and Pat Narduzzi.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Pittsburgh
2021–23Kentucky
2025Western Kentucky
2026Pittsburgh