Louisiana Tech · L 20-35
12 carries, 82 yards
The other 7 games average 67 yards. This one was 15 above.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Martin against South Alabama’s best seasons, game by game
Backs who run like Martin, and how their seasons went
Martin against this year’s top backs, game by game
The road ahead: 552 yards, 69 a game, 4 regular-season games left.
Already their own best season; their previous best was 326, in 2025.
Share of the team's total this season.
Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of his carries with a spot in the play text: left 18, middle 69, right 16. His longest went for 33 yards.
PJ Martin
PJ Martin takes over from Kentrel Bullock at South Alabama.
PRODUCES ABOVE PERCEPTION · PCTL GAP
+56
perception vs production percentile · 2026
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04
Play style
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
34.0% of carries overall (118/347) → 28.8% of Q4-with-lead carries (19/66) — 57.9% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
7 of 11 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (63.6%). 7 of the team's 20 inside-the-5 carries (35.0%).
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | South Alabama | 118 | 552 | 4.7 | 7 | 33 |
| 2025 | South Alabama | 60 | 326 | 5.4 | 2 | 38 |
| 2024 | South Alabama | 13 | 98 | 7.5 | 1 | 45 |
| 2023 | South Alabama | 12 | 75 | 6.2 | 1 | 36 |
| Career | 203 | 1,051 | 5.2 | 11 | 45 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | South Alabama | 10 | 52 | 5.2 | 0 | 27 |
| 2025 | South Alabama | 5 | 49 | 9.8 | 0 | 35 |
| 2024 | South Alabama | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 0 | 23 |
| 2023 | South Alabama | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 18 |
| Career | 20 | 158 | 7.9 | 0 | 35 |
Last game (Wk 9): 82 rushing yards, 1 catch.
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 39-14vs SE Louisiana | 18 | 69 | 3.8 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-28@ Tulane | 15 | 73 | 4.9 | 1 | 18 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-36vs Ohio | 21 | 80 | 3.8 | 1 | 21 | |
| Wk 4 | L 21-45@ Kentucky | 9 | 48 | 5.3 | 1 | 10 | |
| Wk 5 | W 52-35vs UL Monroe | 13 | 58 | 4.5 | 1 | 28 | |
| Wk 6 | W 56-49@ Arkansas State | 16 | 95 | 5.9 | 1 | 33 | Season-high 95 yds |
| Wk 8 | L 13-20@ Marshall | 14 | 47 | 3.4 | 1 | 19 | |
| Wk 9 | L 20-35vs Louisiana Tech | 12 | 82 | 6.8 | 0 | 30 | |
| Total | 118 | 552 | 4.7 | 7 | 33 |
Oct. 31 · L 20-35 vs Louisiana Tech, play by play
12 carries for 82 yards.
30-yard run. Second quarter, down 21-14.
1-yard loss on 3rd and 1. Third quarter, down 28-20.
14 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Not drawn: the play-by-play and the box score disagree.
16 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown, his most this season. He converted a 4th and 1 with the score tied 0-0.
4-yard run on 4th and 1. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
9-yard run on 3rd and 4. Second quarter, tied 21-21. Converted.
33-yard run. Third quarter, up 34-28.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
13 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown.
28-yard run. Fourth quarter, up 45-28.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
9 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown.
The per-play feed is missing a 1-yard run in the second quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 8 carries it has.
10-yard run. First quarter, tied 0-0.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
21 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown.
1-yard run on 3rd and 3. First quarter, tied 7-7.
1-yard touchdown run on 3rd and 1. Third quarter, made it 31-21.
21-yard run. Fourth quarter, up 31-21.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
15 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown. He converted a 3rd and 2 with South Alabama down 21-17. He also caught 4 passes for 32 yards.
27-yard catch. First quarter, up 3-0.
3-yard run on 3rd and 2. Fourth quarter, down 21-17. Converted.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
18 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown.
12-yard run. First quarter, tied 0-0.
1-yard loss on 4th and 2. Second quarter, up 19-7. Turnover on downs.
3-yard touchdown run on 4th and 2. Fourth quarter, made it 39-14.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 3 · 2026
W 41-36
vs Ohio
80 rush yds (21 car) · 1 TD
Edged out Ohio at home in a shootout.
With J. Hollins — 192 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 68.8 · 18 rush yds (5 car) · K. Phillips — 116 rush yds (18 car) · 1 TD · 2 rec · 25 yds
The plays that mattered most
63rd in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -24 to +11 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
43%117 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.7 yds/carry on 118 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 43% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 72.2 | 4.7 | 0.8 |
| Road4g | 65.8 | 4.9 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 70.5 | 4.7 | 1.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 64.5 | 5.1 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Major Applewhite
Pass share
37.6%
215 pass / 357 run
Plays / game
71.5
8 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
241 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2026
118 carries and 10 catches in 8 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #112 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Sun Belt
Based on 2025: #22 of 36 Sun Belt RBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
The No. 1,924 recruit in the country is carrying the ball in the Sun Belt.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 27 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Kane Wommack → Major Applewhite. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
