Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
1/24Inside-5 share
1 of the team's 24 inside-the-5 carries (4.2%).
Sampson James
Sampson James: RB · Indiana · #6.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Sampson James
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series. Second year in the Indiana backfield. A game that shows it: 33 rushing yards against Rutgers — Week 9, 2020.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Built to take 20+ carries per game. Volume is the value.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Indiana in the news
- Josh Hoover benched for OT win
- Indiana ends 56-year winless streak at Michigan
The Daily Hoosier Oct 28 - Becker apologized to Day
The Herald-Times Oct 21 - Indiana's historic win streak ends
USA Today Oct 17
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2020 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 8 | W 36-35vs No. 8 Penn State | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 9 | W 37-21@ Rutgers | 7 | 33 | 4.7 | 0 | 16 | Season-high 33 yds |
| Wk 10 | W 38-21vs No. 23 Michigan | 8 | 25 | 3.1 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 11 | W 24-0@ Michigan State | 10 | 22 | 2.2 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 12 | L 35-42@ No. 3 Ohio State | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 13 | W 27-11vs Maryland | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 14 | W 14-6@ No. 18 Wisconsin | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 29 | 94 | 3.2 | 0 | 16 |
Signature game
Week 10 · 2020
W 38-21
vs Michigan
25 rush yds (8 car) · 1 rec · 9 yds
With M. Penix Jr. — 342 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · H. Whitehead — 46.2 yards per punt · 5 punts · 1 inside the 20
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Ole Miss · 2nd and 3 · Q3 · EPA −1.67Sampson James run for a loss of 3 yards to the Miss 41
- Week 9 · Rutgers · 2nd and 9 · Q2 · EPA +1.55Sampson James run for 16 yds to the Rutgr 29 for a
- Week 12 · Ohio State · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA −1.37Sampson James run for a loss of 1 yard to the Ind 42
- Week 11 · Michigan State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −1.36Sampson James run for a loss of 2 yards to the Ind 34
- Week 10 · Michigan · 3rd and 1 · Q2 · EPA +1.03Sampson James run for 2 yds to the Mich 3 for a
- Week 11 · Michigan State · 2nd and 6 · Q2 · EPA −1.00Sampson James run for a loss of 1 yard to the Ind 35
4 more plays
- Week 12 · Ohio State · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +0.91Sampson James run for 8 yds to the Ind 33
- Week 9 · Rutgers · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −0.79Sampson James run for 1 yd to the Rutgr 45
- Week 11 · Michigan State · 3rd and 1 · Q1 · EPA −0.76Sampson James run for no gain to the Ind 36
- Week 10 · Michigan · 2nd and 5 · Q2 · EPA −0.57Sampson James run for a loss of 1 yard to the Ind 20
Teams and coaches
2 seasons under Tom Allen — 14-7 over that span.
2019Indiana8-5HC: Tom Allen · Balanced
2020Indiana6-2HC: Tom Allen · Balanced, fast tempo
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2020 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 9.7 | 3.5 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 16.2 | 3.4 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 8+7g | 13.4 | 3.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tom Allen
Pass share
52.8%
291 pass / 260 run
Plays / game
78.7
7 games
Team sack rate
3.1%
320 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2020
32 carries and 1 catch in 7 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Three seasons at Indiana
- Jul 2022 Entered the transfer portal
- 2021 Indiana AllenYear 3 · on the roster, no stat line
- 2020 Indiana AllenYear 2 · 7 games
- 2019 Indiana AllenYear 1 · 11 games
- High school AvonAvon, IN · Class of 2019Four-star, No. 182 in the 2019 class. Signed with Indiana.Also from Avon: Enoch Atewogbola (Minnesota), Max Hauck (Miami (OH)), William Johnson III (Kent State) and 4 more.
Moves
- Entered the transfer portal from Purdue, Jul 8, 2022.
How it ended
Two seasons at Indiana, 371 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
2019 11 games
- Signed with IndianaFour-star, out of Avon
2022
- Entered the portalfrom Purdue
Coaching lineage · 2019–2021
1 coach2019–2021
Indiana
Played every college season under Tom Allen.