#22

OJ Arnold

Senior running back for Georgia Southern. 2025: 1,037 rushing yards, 5 rushing TD, 21 catches.

RB · Georgia Southern · Sr. · #22

5′9″ · 195 lb · Quitman, GA

CFB Index 81 · #17 of 326 RBsHigh confidenceAll-ConferenceReturning to Georgia Southern for 2026

How he plays

Hits the crease and outruns the angle.

Yards / carry: 94th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

1,037

rushing yards · 2025

5 TD · 7.2 per carry · 21 catches

Backed by 21 car · 267 yds · 2 TD -- top 0.1% rushing yards game.

The play that turned itSwung Georgia Southern from 37% to 93% to win.Georgia Southern at App State · 25-23

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 running back for Georgia Southern. 2025: 1,037 rushing yards, 5 rushing TD, 21 catches.

Signed with Georgia Southern in 2022.

The full story, with sources

OJ Arnold

RB · Georgia Southern · Sr · #22

Hits the crease and outruns the angle. Fourth year in the Georgia Southern backfield, same address the whole way. 2025 brought the first one: All-Sun Belt. The receipt: 267 rush yds, 73 pass yds against Coastal Carolina — Week 12, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
seasons on the roster
recognition record
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

4 seasons under Clay Helton — 27-25 over that span.

2022Georgia Southern6-7HC: Clay Helton · Pass-heavy, fast tempo

2023Georgia Southern6-7HC: Clay Helton · Pass-leaning

2024Georgia Southern8-5HC: Clay Helton · Balanced

2025Georgia Southern7-6HC: Clay Helton · Balanced

Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

81All-Conference level #17 of 326?

High confidenceBreakout13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: yards / carry (94th percentile). Strength: epa / carry (82nd percentile). Concern: fumbles lost (14th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / carry#30 / 456 · 94th pct

6.8

EPA / carry#84 / 456 · 82nd pct

0.27

Success rate#108 / 456 · 76th pct

49.2%

Explosive rate#148 / 456 · 68th pct

7.9%

TD rate#277 / 456 · 39th pct

2.2%

Box-score rates (8)

Yards / carry#8 / 349 · 98th pct

7.2

Rush yards#33 / 349 · 91st pct

1037

Rec yards#44 / 338 · 87th pct

212

Receptions#68 / 338 · 79th pct

Carries#75 / 349 · 79th pct

144

Long run#91 / 349 · 74th pct

Rush TDs#115 / 349 · 62nd pct

Fumbles lost#154 / 201 · 14th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / carry

60th → 82nd percentile

Success rate

85th → 76th percentile

Explosive rate

67th → 68th percentile

Yards / carry

45th → 94th percentile

TD rate

54th → 39th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Situational

Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)

Yardage DNA

139 carries

11%

Stuffed (≤0)

27%

Grind (1–3)

45%

Chunk (4–9)

17%

Explosive (10+)

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Home6g	102	6.3	0.8
Road6g	71.0	6.2	0.0

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	73.9	6.5	0.4
Weeks 8+5g	104	5.9	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Clay Helton

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

All-Conference

Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

81 · #17 of 326 RBs

Unranked recruit. Now #17 at the position.

2026 outlook

In the mix to repeat All-Sun Belt

Based on 2025: #2 of 36 Sun Belt RBs

How the All-Sun Belt estimate is computed

49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Georgia Southern	144	1,037	7.2	5	--
2024	Georgia Southern	62	315	5.1	3	--
2023	Georgia Southern	75	411	5.5	4	--
2022	Georgia Southern	45	257	5.7	1	--
Career		326	2,020	6.2	13	--

Season	Team
2025	Georgia Southern	21	212	10.1	1	--
2024	Georgia Southern	24	145	6.0	2	--
2023	Georgia Southern	11	124	11.3	0	--
2022	Georgia Southern	10	58	5.8	1	--
Career		66	539	8.2	4	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 4 · 2025

W 45–17

vs Maine

12 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 100.0 · 85 rush yds (13 car) · 1 TD

Dominant 28-point win at home against Maine.

With J. French — 253 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 35.4 · 42 rush yds (6 car) · D. Cobb — 44 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 100.0 · 8 rush yds (3 car) · 1 TD

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 12 · Coastal Carolina · 2&8 · Q3 · EPA +6.53(11:00) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 O.Arnold pass complete deep right to #4 C.Brown caught at CCU44, for 73 yards to the CCU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:52, 1ST DOWN #0 T.Bryant kick attempt good (H: #25 A.Smith, LS: #89 J.Wheeler)
Week 12 · Coastal Carolina · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +4.95(04:04) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 O.Arnold rush middle for 62 yards gain to the CCU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:58, 1ST DOWN #0 T.Bryant kick attempt good (H: #25 A.Smith, LS: #89 J.Wheeler)
Week 12 · Coastal Carolina · 3&12 · Q4 · EPA +4.28(03:12) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 O.Arnold rush middle for 55 yards gain to the CCU37 (#14 M.Woods), 1ST DOWN
Week 3 · Jacksonville State · 1&28 · Q4 · EPA +4.23OJ Arnold run for 41 yds to the JXST 24 for a 1ST down
Week 8 · Georgia State · 3&6 · Q2 · EPA +4.00JC French IV pass complete to OJ Arnold for 40 yds to the GAST 31 for a 1ST down
Week 1 · App State · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.48(14:20) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 O.Arnold rush middle for 49 yards gain to the ASU29 (#7 J.Favors), 1ST DOWN
Week 1 · App State · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +3.44(14:45) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 O.Arnold rush left for 58 yards gain to the ASU16 (#7 J.Favors), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
Week 12 · Coastal Carolina · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.24(12:51) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 J.French IV pass complete short left to #22 O.Arnold caught at CCU46, for 41 yards to the CCU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 12:43, 1ST DOWN #0 T.Bryant kick attempt good (H: #25 A.Smith, LS: #89 J.Wheeler)
Week 12 · Coastal Carolina · 2&5 · Q1 · EPA +3.12(12:14) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 O.Arnold rush middle for 51 yards gain to the CCU15 (#14 M.Woods), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
Week 3 · Jacksonville State · 2&4 · Q2 · EPA +2.84OJ Arnold run for 32 yds for a TD (Tripp Bryant KICK)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 14-42@ Fresno State	9	41	4.6	0	11	152-yard day
Wk 2	L 20-59@ USC	8	45	5.6	0	13
Wk 3	W 41-34vs Jacksonville State	16	128	8.0	2	41
Wk 4	W 45-17vs Maine	13	85	6.5	1	22
Wk 5	L 10-35@ James Madison	4	10	2.5	0	4
Wk 7	L 35-38vs Southern Miss	13	56	4.3	0	14
Wk 8	W 41-24vs Georgia State	12	74	6.2	0	15
Wk 9	L 24-34@ Arkansas State	14	73	5.2	0	15
Wk 11	W 25-23@ App State	20	105	5.3	0	19
Wk 12	W 45-40vs Coastal Carolina	21	267	12.7	2	62	Season-high 267 yds
Wk 13	L 10-45vs Old Dominion	3	1	0.3	0	2
Bowl	W 29-10@ App State	11	152	13.8	0	58
Total		144	1037	6.2	5	62

How he plays

Play style

Cuts upfield fast. Designed to find the crease, not run through the line.

CFB Index positional classification

Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape

Steady, not spectacular

~ our read

139Carries

948Yards

26.8%Top-5 share

10.8%Stuffed rate

Just 26.8% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 10.8% of his carries. 3 carries for 1 yds vs Old Dominion; 18 for 191 vs Coastal Carolina.

Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share

The closer

~ our read

33.2%Carry share

36.6%Q4-lead share

96.7%In competitive games

33.2% of carries overall (140/422) → 36.6% of Q4-with-lead carries (30/82) — 96.7% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.

Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration

Who gets the tough yard

fact

4/28Inside-5 share

4 of the team's 28 inside-the-5 carries (14.3%).

2026 Outlook

Georgia Southern

Preseason read · May 27

2026 Depth chart

Returning starter

Running back · Georgia Southern

Returning around him

6% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
Transfer portal: -1 net (17 in / 18 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Georgia Southern · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #78 · 2026 recruiting class #89

DNA match

Player DNA

Speed Merchant

Cuts upfield fast. Designed to find the crease, not run through the line.

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Kelley Joiner Jr.’s 2021 season.

Kelley Joiner Jr.

73%match

South Florida · 2021

Ayo Adeyi

North Texas · 2023

All-AAC

68%

Raleek Brown

Arizona State · 2025

All-Big 12

65%

Robert Henry

UTSA · 2025

64%

T.J. Pledger

Utah · 2021

63%

Matches Kelley on

Receiving share

Rush TD rate

Yards / carry

Differs from Kelley on

Yards / reception (higher)

Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Brashard Smith’s path through SMU.

Brashard Smith

88%match

SMU · 2024

All-ACCNFL Rd 7

Ayo Adeyi

James Madison · 2025

All-AAC

88%

Jermar Jefferson

Oregon State · 2020

All-Pac-12NFL Rd 7

86%

Seth Davis

Mississippi State · 2023

84%

Raleek Brown

Arizona State · 2025

All-Big 12

84%

Matches Brashard on

Weight

Yards per carry

Height

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Eli Sanders's senior season at New Mexico (2024).

Eli Sanders

76%match

New Mexico · 2024

All-Mountain West

Brashard Smith

SMU · 2024

All-ACCNFL Rd 7

74%

Raleek Brown

Arizona State · 2025

All-Big 12

65%

Jarquez Hunter

Auburn · 2024

All-SECNFL Rd 4

64%

Evan Pryor

Cincinnati · 2025

63%

Matches Eli on

Weight

Yards / reception

Height

Differs from Eli on

Rush TD rate (lower)

Player DNA

Players who play like OJ Arnold

Eli Sanders

USC · 2025

73%

Amari Daniels

Texas A&M · 2023

72%

Blake Watson

Old Dominion · 2022

72%

Ja'Quez Cross

Arkansas State · 2023

72%

Ryan Montgomery

Cincinnati · 2023

68%

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

OJ Arnold

Attention percentile: 4th · Production percentile: 90th

202211 games

202512 games

2025 snapshot

Situational

Splits & context

Awards

All-Conference

Career stats

Signature game

Signature plays

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Speed Merchant

Players who play like OJ Arnold