Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-26vs San José State | 7 | 30 | 4.3 | 1 | 8 | |
| Wk 1 | W 39-0vs Fresno State | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-30vs Louisiana | 5 | 34 | 6.8 | 0 | 15 | Season-high 34 yds |
| Total | 16 | 84 | 5.4 | 1 | 15 |
#22
Shahn Alston
Freshman running back for USC. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
5′10″ · 220 lb · Painesville, OH · Thomas W. Harvey HS
Watch-list name (model)Returning to USC for 2026
The numbers
84
rushing yards · 2026
1 TD · 5.3 per carry
3 games into 2026 so far
Swing playSwung USC from 73% to 96% to win.San José State at USC · 42-26
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
1 running back for USC. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to USC in 2026.
Shahn Alston
The receipt: 34 rush yds against Louisiana — Week 2, 2026.
84 RUSH YDS · 1 RUSH TD · 16 CARRIES
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- game log
His career
20263 games
- Signed with USC4-star out of Harvey
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
USC
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2026USC3-0HC: Lincoln Riley · Run-leaning
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Concern: rush yards (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (5)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 28.0 | 5.4 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 28.0 | 5.4 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
46.0%
97 pass / 114 run
Plays / game
70.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.0%
102 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Watch-list name (model)
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | USC | 16 | 84 | 5.2 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 16 | 84 | 5.2 | 1 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 49–30
vs Louisiana
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · San José State · 2&1 · Q4 · EPA +1.90(09:45) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush middle for 1 yard gain to the SJS00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 09:42 #45 C.Chittenden kick attempt good (H: #35 L.Carrigan, LS: #53 L.Brown)
- Week 1 · San José State · 3&2 · Q4 · EPA +1.36(04:02) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush middle for 7 yards gain to the USC36 (#91 A.Jennings), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Louisiana · 3&1 · Q4 · EPA +1.25(01:16) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush middle for 5 yards gain to the USC39 (#9 L.Williams), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · San José State · 3&1 · Q4 · EPA +0.95(13:46) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush middle for 2 yards gain to the USC36 (#32 C.Womack), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · San José State · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +0.82(05:06) Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush left for 8 yards gain to the USC29 (#3 N.Danielson)
- Week 1 · San José State · 1&2 · Q4 · EPA -0.69(10:26) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush middle for 1 yard gain to the SJS01 (#3 N.Danielson)
- Week 2 · Louisiana · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +0.66(09:04) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush left for 15 yards gain to the UL30 (#44 J.St. Andre), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · San José State · 2&5 · Q4 · EPA +0.39(01:00) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush middle for 6 yards gain to the SJS32 (#3 N.Danielson; #6 E.Powell), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Louisiana · 2&4 · Q4 · EPA -0.36(02:00) Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush middle for 3 yards gain to the USC34 (#99 A.Wright)
- Week 1 · Fresno State · 2&6 · Q4 · EPA -0.35(11:00) Shotgun #22 S.Alston rush middle for 3 yards gain to the FST38 (#8 M.Owusu; #0 D.Laffitte)
Game log
Game by game
Shahn Alston's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
How he plays
2026 Outlook
USC
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Running back · USC
Returning around him
- 59% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
- 3 USC players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -13 net (9 in / 22 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
USC · Last season: 9-4 (AP #16) · Talent rank #9 · 2026 recruiting class #1
Background
2026: Alston, who enrolled at USC in the spring of 2026 after graduating a semester early from high school, looks to compete for playing time at running back as a true freshman in 2026. HIGH SCHOOL: Alston, a four-star recruit, was ranked as the No. 95 player in the nation by ESPN, No. 130 by Riv...
The backfield · USC
- #8King Miller972 rushing yards · 2025
- #2Waymond Jordan576 rushing yards · 2025
- #27Riley Wormley18 rushing yards · 2025
- #41Cian McKelvey4 rushing yards · 2025
- #22Shahn Alston3 games · 2026
3 more on the roster · USC team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology