Indiana · L 16-23
6 carries, 54 yards
The other 7 games average 47 yards. This one was 7 above.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
“PLAY ON THE BALL?! He slapped his arm away! Ball don’t lie from TJ Thomas!!!!!”
No bar in a game where the team had under 100 rushing yards: a share of that little says nothing.
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 16, middle 29, right 12. His longest went for 71 yards.
TJ Thomas Jr.
Wins in space out of the backfield. A game that shows it: 122 rushing yards and 3 receptions against Akron — Week 3, 2026.
381 rushing yards · 1 rushing TD · 64 carries
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named TJ Thomas Jr. vs Akron.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Minnesota | 64 | 381 | 6.0 | 1 | 71 |
| Career | 64 | 381 | 6.0 | 1 | 71 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Minnesota | 20 | 94 | 4.7 | 0 | 18 |
| Career | 20 | 94 | 4.7 | 0 | 18 |
Last game (Wk 9): 54 rushing yards, 3 catches.
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 59-7vs Eastern Illinois | 7 | 52 | 7.4 | 0 | 20 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-38vs Mississippi State | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-7vs Akron | 13 | 122 | 9.4 | 1 | 71 | Season-high 122 yds |
| Wk 4 | W 27-24@ Washington | 11 | 78 | 7.1 | 0 | 45 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-14vs Michigan | 12 | 56 | 4.7 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-41@ Purdue | 6 | 12 | 2.0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 8 | W 13-10vs No. 15 Iowa | 6 | 8 | 1.3 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 9 | L 16-23@ No. 4 Indiana | 6 | 54 | 9.0 | 0 | 30 | |
| Total | 64 | 381 | 6.0 | 1 | 71 |
Oct. 31 · L 16-23 at Indiana, play by play
6 carries for 54 yards. He also caught 3 passes for -2 yards.
30-yard run. Third quarter, tied 10-10.
4-yard run on 3rd and 5. Third quarter, tied 10-10.
9-yard catch on 3rd and 17. Fourth quarter, up 13-10.
6 carries for 8 yards.
3-yard loss on 3rd and 6. First quarter, tied 0-0.
3-yard run on 3rd and 11. First quarter, up 3-0.
5-yard run. First quarter, up 3-0.
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.
6 carries for 12 yards. He also caught 4 passes for 18 yards.
7-yard catch on 3rd and 4. Fourth quarter, down 41-13. 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.
12 carries for 56 yards.
6-yard catch on 4th and 1. Third quarter, down 14-7. Converted.
14-yard run. Third quarter, down 14-10.
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.
11 carries for 78 yards. In the fourth quarter, with Minnesota ahead by one score, he carried 4 times for 9 yards.
45-yard run. First quarter, up 7-0.
2-yard run on 3rd and 8. Fourth quarter, up 27-24.
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 122 yards and a touchdown, his most this season. He also caught 3 passes for -8 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a 4-yard loss in the fourth quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 12 carries it has.
71-yard touchdown run. Fourth quarter, made it 41-0.
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.
3 carries for -1 yards. He also caught 4 passes for 40 yards.
14-yard catch. Second quarter, down 28-3.
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 4 · 2026
W 27-24
at Washington
78 rush yds (11 car)
A close one, won by 3 on the road.
With T. Weston — 35.8 yards per punt · 6 punts · 4 inside the 20 · D. Lindsey — 204 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 73.2
The plays that mattered most
150th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +24 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%63 carriesFumble rate
1.6%1 of 64 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds6.0 yds/carry on 64 carries · 14% explosive (10+ yds) · 43% success rate.
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
2811% of team targetsCatch rate
71%20 of 28 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
71% catch rate on 28 targets · 11% of the team's targets.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 47.4 | 4.5 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 48.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 53.2 | 5.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 31.0 | 5.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
P.J. Fleck
Pass share
54.3%
269 pass / 226 run
Plays / game
61.9
8 games
Team sack rate
3.5%
289 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
64 carries and 20 catches in 8 games, about as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 is in progress.
