Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
13/203rd/4th & short
9/29Inside-5 share
13 of 20 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (65.0%). 9 of the team's 29 inside-the-5 carries (31.0%).
Tavion Thomas
Tavion Thomas: RB · Utah · #9.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Tavion Thomas
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series. Played for two head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Luke Fickell and Kyle Whittingham. First career honor, 2021: All-Pac-12. One game to point at: 180 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD against Stanford — Week 11, 2022.
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.
Utah in the news
- Utah OT out for season
The Salt Lake Tribune Nov 2 - Big 12 penalizes discriminatory chants
KJZZ Oct 29 - Pat McAfee criticizes UtahThe Salt Lake Tribune Oct 27
- Digital evidence reviewed in case
KUTV Oct 23
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Utah | 142 | 687 | 4.8 | 7 | 36 |
| 2021 | Utah | 204 | 1,108 | 5.4 | 21 | 58 |
| 2019 | Cincinnati | 40 | 190 | 4.8 | 1 | 38 |
| 2018 | Cincinnati | 89 | 499 | 5.6 | 6 | 28 |
| Career | 475 | 2,484 | 5.2 | 35 | 58 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Utah | 6 | 43 | 7.2 | 0 | 18 |
| 2021 | Utah | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 7 |
| 2019 | Cincinnati | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2018 | Cincinnati | 1 | −2 | −2.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 10 | 50 | 5.0 | 0 | 18 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 10 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 26-29@ Florida | 23 | 115 | 5.0 | 1 | 22 | |
| Wk 2 | W 73-7vs Southern Utah | 11 | 48 | 4.4 | 2 | 13 | |
| Wk 3 | W 35-7vs San Diego State | 16 | 59 | 3.7 | 1 | 18 | |
| Wk 4 | W 34-13@ Arizona State | 11 | 60 | 5.5 | 0 | 28 | |
| Wk 5 | W 42-16vs Oregon State | 6 | 13 | 2.2 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 6 | L 32-42@ No. 18 UCLA | 18 | 91 | 5.1 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 7 | W 43-42vs No. 7 USC | 8 | 28 | 3.5 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 10 | W 45-20vs Arizona | 8 | 38 | 4.8 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-7vs Stanford | 22 | 180 | 8.2 | 2 | 36 | Season-high 180 yds |
| Wk 12 | L 17-20@ No. 12 Oregon | 19 | 55 | 2.9 | 0 | 8 | |
| Total | 142 | 687 | 4.8 | 7 | 36 |
Signature game
Week 11 · 2022
W 42-7
vs Stanford
180 rush yds (22 car) · 2 TD
Dominant 35-point win at home against Stanford.
With C. Rising — 219 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 80.4 · 34 rush yds (3 car) · N. Johnson — 21 rush yds (1 car) · 16 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 99.9
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Florida · 4th and 1 · Q3 · EPA −4.21Tavion Thomas run for no gain to the Fla 1
- Week 11 · Stanford · 2nd and 8 · Q4 · EPA +3.51Tavion Thomas run for 36 yds for a TD, (Jadon Redding KICK)
- Week 3 · San Diego State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.59Tavion Thomas run for 18 yds for a TD, (Jordan Noyes KICK)
- Week 1 · Florida · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +2.48Tavion Thomas run for 4 yds for a TD, (Jordan Noyes KICK)
- Week 4 · Arizona State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.46Tavion Thomas run for 28 yds to the ArzSt 46 for a
- Week 2 · Southern Utah · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.44Cameron Rising pass complete to Tavion Thomas for 18 yds to the SoUth 38 for a
4 more plays
- Week 11 · Stanford · 3rd and 5 · Q2 · EPA +2.33Tavion Thomas run for 15 yds to the Stanf 34 for a
- Week 6 · UCLA · 1st and 5 · Q2 · EPA +1.88Tavion Thomas run for 5 yds for a TD, (Jordan Noyes KICK)
- Week 1 · Florida · 2nd and 3 · Q3 · EPA +1.86Tavion Thomas run for 22 yds to the Fla 43 for a
- Week 12 · Oregon · 3rd and 4 · Q3 · EPA +1.73Tavion Thomas run for 4 yds to the Utah 45 for a
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
135 of 142 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
56%135 carriesFumble rate
1.4%2 of 142 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer yds16%of carries
22 carries
Grind
1–3 yds31%of carries
42 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds41%of carries
55 carries
Explosive
10+ yds12%of carries
16 carries
13 of 20 (65%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 3 of 9 (33%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
4.8 yds/carry on 142 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 56% success rate.
Situational
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
16%
Stuffed (≤0)
31%
Grind (1–3)
41%
Chunk (4–9)
12%
Explosive (10+)
Teams and coaches
2018Cincinnati11-2HC: Luke Fickell · Run-heavy
2019Cincinnati11-3HC: Luke Fickell · Run-heavy
2021Utah10-4HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-leaning
2022Utah10-4HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-leaning
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 61.0 | 4.5 | 0.8 |
| Road4g | 80.2 | 4.6 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 59.1 | 4.2 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 91.0 | 5.3 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kyle Whittingham
Pass share
44.4%
444 pass / 556 run
Plays / game
71.4
14 games
Team sack rate
3.1%
451 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2022
Starter
142 carries and 6 catches in 10 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
48 · #138 of 317 RBs · 2022
Former four-star. Now #138 at the position.
Four seasons, two schools
- 2022 Utah WhittinghamYear 5 · 10 games
- 2021 Cincinnati FickellYear 4 · on the roster, no stat lineAll-conference
- 2019 Cincinnati FickellYear 2 · 4 games
- 2018 Cincinnati FickellYear 1 · 8 games
- High school DunbarDayton, OH · Class of 2018Three-star, No. 410 in the 2018 class. Signed with Cincinnati.
How it ended
Four seasons, at Cincinnati and Utah, 2,484 rushing yards, a first-team All-Conference season (2021) — the college career is complete.
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
2018 8 games
- Signed with CincinnatiThree-star, out of Dunbar
2021 12 games
- All-Pac-12First Team
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-PAC-12 · 1ST TEAM
All-Pac-12 1st team (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2018–2022
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Luke Fickell and Kyle Whittingham.