Tyjae Spears: RB · Tulane · #22.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Tyjae Spears
Hits the crease and outruns the angle. Four seasons in the Tulane backfield to date. The first one came in 2022: AAC Offensive Player of the Year. On tape: 205 rushing yards and 14 receiving yards against USC, Bowl, 2022.
Play style
Cuts upfield fast. Designed to find the crease, not run through the line.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
Not actually a closer
41.7% of carries overall (218/523) → 26.8% of Q4-with-lead carries (33/123) — 100.0% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
7 of 12 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (58.3%). 13 of the team's 31 inside-the-5 carries (41.9%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 14 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-10vs Massachusetts | 12 | 57 | 4.8 | 3 | 12 | 4 rushing TDs |
| Wk 2 | W 52-0vs Alcorn State | 5 | 8 | 1.6 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 3 | W 17-10@ Kansas State | 9 | 26 | 2.9 | 1 | 8 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-27vs Southern Miss | 22 | 114 | 5.2 | 2 | 34 | |
| Wk 5 | W 27-24@ Houston | 14 | 54 | 3.9 | 0 | 23 | |
| Wk 6 | W 24-9vs East Carolina | 16 | 53 | 3.3 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 7 | W 45-31@ South Florida | 18 | 151 | 8.4 | 2 | 75 | 151-yard day |
| Wk 8 | W 38-28vs Memphis | 24 | 125 | 5.2 | 1 | 22 | |
| Wk 10 | W 27-13@ Tulsa | 14 | 157 | 11.2 | 1 | 55 | 157-yard day |
| Wk 11 | L 31-38vs No. 22 UCF | 8 | 130 | 16.3 | 0 | 70 | |
| Wk 12 | W 59-24vs SMU | 13 | 121 | 9.3 | 2 | 48 | |
| Wk 13 | W 27-24@ No. 21 Cincinnati | 35 | 181 | 5.2 | 2 | 25 | 181-yard day |
| Wk 14 | W 45-28vs No. 22 UCF | 22 | 199 | 9.0 | 1 | 60 | 199-yard day |
 Bowl | W 46-45vs No. 8 USC | 17 | 205 | 12.1 | 4 | 62 | |
| Total | 229 | 1581 | 6.9 | 19 | 75 |
Bowl · 2022
W 46-45
vs USC · neutral site
205 rush yds (17 car) · 4 TD · 1 rec · 14 yds
Edged out USC at a neutral site in a shootout.
With M. Pratt — 234 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · 83 rush yds (15 car) · J. Jackson — 1 rec · 87 yds · 1 TD
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
43%201 carriesFumble rate
1.3%3 of 229 carries · 3 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds6.9 yds/carry on 229 carries · 16% explosive (10+ yds) · 43% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
4 seasons under Willie Fritz — 27-24 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 14 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 101 | 6.8 | 1.1 |
| Road5g | 114 | 6.3 | 1.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 83.5 | 5.3 | 1.5 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 152 | 9.4 | 1.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Willie Fritz
Pass share
41.0%
377 pass / 543 run
Plays / game
65.7
14 games
Team sack rate
7.3%
413 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2022
First team in his league at the position.
The All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #1 of 317 FBS backs by CFB Zeitgeist Score.2022 profile
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #1 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Tulane, 2,911 rushing yards, a first-team All-Conference season (2022) — drafted at #81 overall by the Tennessee Titans.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 1ST TEAM
All-AAC 1st team (2022)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2022)
AAC Offensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2019–2022
1 coachPlayed every college season under Willie Fritz.
Next stop · NFL
Tennessee TitansEntering 4th NFL season
Tennessee TitansEntering 4th NFL season
