Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
7/26Inside-5 share
7 of the team's 26 inside-the-5 carries (26.9%).
Seth Cromwell
Rushing yards314175th of 278 running backsLast gameL 21–24vs Troy · Oct 29
Nextat Southern MissThu Nov 5 · 8 pm ET
- touchdown
Wagner · W 87-3 · FCS
No carries.
Troy · L 21-24
23 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD
The other 7 games average 26 yards. This one was 109 above.
Cromwell has carries in 8 of James Madison’s 9 games: none against Wagner.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
This week
- RecordJames Madison is 7-2.
- From the game thread
“Yep. This has been awful to watch. If not for Cromwell, wed be down 7-35.”
- Next gameat Southern Miss · Thu Nov 5
A play of his this season
Seth Cromwell
A game that shows it: 135 rushing yards and 19 receiving yards against Troy — Week 9, 2026.
314 rushing yards · 3 rushing TD · 65 carries
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
In the game threads
at App State, Oct 22Stop being cute and ram it in with Cromwell.James Madison fan, r/CFB game threadvs Wagner, Sep 12Warning to the rest of the Sun Belt, Herman is our RB3. Our RB2 Cromwell is hurtJames Madison fan, r/CFB game threadWhere to follow
The latest game
Against Troy on Oct. 29: 2 catches for 19 yards. In the 3 games drawn here: 4 catches for 29 yards. James Madison has thrown to him 5 times in 108 passes.
First quarterSecond quarterThird quarterFourth quarter
- L 21-24 vs Troy2 catches, 19 yds
- L 31-34 at App State1 catch, 5 yds
- W 27-24 at Georgia Southern1 catch, 5 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 | James Madison | 65 | 314 | 4.8 | 3 | 51 |
| Career | 65 | 314 | 4.8 | 3 | 51 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 4 | 29 | 7.2 | 0 | 14 |
| Career | 4 | 29 | 7.2 | 0 | 14 |
Last game (Wk 9): 135 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 2 catches.
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 20-13vs Liberty | 4 | 51 | 12.8 | 0 | 51 | |
| Wk 3 | W 26-13@ San Diego State | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 4 | W 46-20@ Old Dominion | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 1 | 8 | |
| Wk 5 | W 45-17vs Marshall | 6 | 13 | 2.2 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-24@ Georgia Southern | 9 | 40 | 4.4 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 7 | W 49-22vs Georgia State | 13 | 41 | 3.2 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 8 | L 31-34@ App State | 4 | 18 | 4.5 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 9 | L 21-24vs Troy | 23 | 135 | 5.9 | 1 | 25 | Season-high 135 yds |
| Total | 65 | 314 | 4.8 | 3 | 51 |
Signature game
Week 9 · 2026
L 21-24
vs Troy
135 rush yds (23 car) · 1 TD · 2 rec · 19 yds
With P. Rea — 36.3 yards per punt · 6 punts · 2 inside the 20 · C. Coleman — 175 yds · 2 TD · 2 INT · QBR 23.0
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Liberty · 2nd and 7 · Q2 · EPA +3.28S.Cromwell rush middle for 51 yards gain to the LU 13 (D.Spurlock)
- Week 4 · Old Dominion · 4th and 1 · Q4 · EPA +2.79Seth Cromwell 1 Yd Run
- Week 9 · Troy · 2nd and 4 · Q2 · EPA +2.43S.Cromwell rush middle for 14 yards gain for a touchdown
- Week 9 · Troy · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.24S.Cromwell rush middle for 25 yards gain (J.Perry), out of bounds
- Week 9 · Troy · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +1.97S.Cromwell rush middle for 12 yards gain (K.Jones)
- Week 6 · Georgia Southern · 2nd and 4 · Q2 · EPA +1.63S.Cromwell rush middle for 17 yards gain (N.Mangham; A.Sears)
4 more plays
- Week 9 · Troy · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +1.61S.Cromwell rush middle for 22 yards gain (J.Strait), out of bounds
- Week 9 · Troy · 3rd and 4 · Q4 · EPA +1.49S.Cromwell rush middle for 6 yards gain (K.Jones; J.Perry)
- Week 7 · Georgia State · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA −1.48S.Cromwell rush middle for 3 yards loss (X.Esqillion)
- Week 7 · Georgia State · 1st and 3 · Q2 · EPA +1.46S.Cromwell rush middle for 3 yards gain for a touchdown
Where he ranks
Rush yards314tied for 175thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Yards / carry4.8tied for 147thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Rush TDs3tied for 136thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Long run51tied for 99thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Carries65tied for 172ndAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries
Rec yards29tied for 215thAmong 273 backs with 40 or more carries
Receptions4tied for 224thAmong 273 backs with 40 or more carries
1379th 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 -10 to -5 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
64 of 65 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
30%63 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds16%of carries
10 carries
Grind
1–3 yds42%of carries
27 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds30%of carries
19 carries
Explosive
10+ yds12%of carries
8 carries
3 of 6 (50%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 2 of 7 (29%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
4.8 yds/carry on 65 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 30% success rate.
Teams and coaches
2026James Madison7-2HC: Billy Napier · Run-leaning
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 60.0 | 6.0 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 18.5 | 3.6 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 26.8 | 4.7 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 76.5 | 5.2 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Billy Napier
Pass share
45.5%
283 pass / 339 run
Plays / game
69.1
9 games
Team sack rate
3.3%
306 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
65 carries and 4 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
43 · #206 of 330 RBs
Three seasons, two schools
2026 is in progress.
- 2026 James Madison NapierYear 3 · 8 games
- 2025 Northern ArizonaYear 2 · 1 game
- 2024 Northern ArizonaYear 1 · 1 game
- High school ColumbineLittleton, CO