Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
9/15Inside-5 share
9 of the team's 15 inside-the-5 carries (60.0%).
Xavier Johnson
Xavier Johnson: RB · South Alabama · #28.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Xavier Johnson
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Arrived as a two-star recruit; four seasons of production at South Alabama since. One game to point at: 155 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD against Idaho — Week 4, 2017.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | South Alabama | 82 | 445 | 5.4 | 6 | 47 |
| 2016 | South Alabama | 151 | 831 | 5.5 | 10 | 70 |
| 2015 | South Alabama | 145 | 956 | 6.6 | 7 | 92 |
| 2014 | South Alabama | 81 | 438 | 5.4 | 1 | 31 |
| Career | 459 | 2,670 | 5.8 | 24 | 92 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | South Alabama | 5 | 23 | 4.6 | 0 | 8 |
| 2016 | South Alabama | 13 | 86 | 6.6 | 0 | 15 |
| 2015 | South Alabama | 9 | 82 | 9.1 | 1 | 56 |
| 2014 | South Alabama | 4 | 13 | 3.2 | 0 | 7 |
| Career | 31 | 204 | 6.6 | 1 | 56 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 27-47@ Ole Miss | 11 | 33 | 3.0 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 2 | L 7-44vs No. 11 Oklahoma State | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 0 | 19 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-0vs Alabama A&M | 9 | 32 | 3.6 | 2 | 7 | |
| Wk 4 | L 23-29vs Idaho | 20 | 155 | 7.8 | 2 | 34 | Season-high 155 yds |
| Wk 5 | L 16-34@ Louisiana Tech | 12 | 89 | 7.4 | 0 | 47 | |
| Wk 7 | W 19-8@ Troy | 7 | 4 | 0.6 | 1 | 2 | |
| Wk 8 | W 33-23vs UL Monroe | 11 | 99 | 9.0 | 1 | 33 | |
| Wk 9 | L 13-21@ Georgia State | 7 | -3 | -0.4 | 0 | 3 | |
| Total | 82 | 445 | 5.4 | 6 | 47 |
Signature game
Week 4 · 2017
L 23-29
vs Idaho
155 rush yds (20 car) · 2 TD
With C. Waitman — 46.3 yards per punt · 6 punts · 54 long · D. Davis — 106 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · QBR 9.8
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 4 · Idaho · 3rd and 4 · Q4 · EPA +3.77Xavier Johnson run for 34 yds for a TD, (Gavin Patterson KICK)
- Week 8 · UL Monroe · 3rd and 4 · Q1 · EPA +3.60Xavier Johnson run for 33 yds to the LaMon 36 for a
- Week 5 · Louisiana Tech · 2nd and 2 · Q1 · EPA +3.08Xavier Johnson run for 47 yds to the LaTch 29 for a
- Week 3 · Alabama A&M · 3rd and 3 · Q3 · EPA +2.66Xavier Johnson run for 6 yds for a TD, (Gavin Patterson KICK)
- Week 8 · UL Monroe · 2nd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +2.61Xavier Johnson run for 25 yds to the SAlab 48 for a
- Week 5 · Louisiana Tech · 4th and 2 · Q2 · EPA +2.45Cole Garvin pass complete to Xavier Johnson for 5 yds to the LaTch 42 for a
4 more plays
- Week 2 · Oklahoma State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −2.24Xavier Johnson run for 3 yds to the SAlab 43 Xavier Johnson fumbled, forced by Jarrell Owens, recovered by OKSt DeQuinton Osborne
- Week 7 · Troy · 2nd and 1 · Q1 · EPA +1.90Xavier Johnson 1 Yd Run
- Week 4 · Idaho · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −1.87Xavier Johnson run for a loss of 4 yards to the SAlab 38
- Week 8 · UL Monroe · 1st and 4 · Q1 · EPA +1.69Xavier Johnson 4 Yd Run
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
82 of 82 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
49%82 carriesFumble rate
1.2%1 of 82 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer yds27%of carries
22 carries
Grind
1–3 yds27%of carries
22 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds33%of carries
27 carries
Explosive
10+ yds13%of carries
11 carries
3 of 4 (75%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 4 of 9 (44%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
5.4 yds/carry on 82 carries · 13% explosive (10+ yds) · 49% success rate.
Teams and coaches
4 seasons under Joey Jones — 21-29 over that span.
2014South Alabama6-7HC: Joey Jones · Run-leaning
2015South Alabama5-7HC: Joey Jones · Run-leaning
2016South Alabama6-7HC: Joey Jones · Balanced
2017South Alabama4-8HC: Joey Jones · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 96.7 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
| Road4g | 30.8 | 2.6 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 58.2 | 4.9 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 48.0 | 4.3 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Joey Jones
Pass share
52.8%
408 pass / 364 run
Plays / game
64.3
12 games
Team sack rate
5.6%
443 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2017
82 carries and 5 catches in 8 games
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Five seasons at South Alabama
- 2017 South Alabama JonesYear 5 · 8 games
- 2016 South Alabama JonesYear 4 · 12 games
- 2015 South Alabama JonesYear 3 · 12 games
- 2014 South Alabama JonesYear 2 · 12 games
- 2013 South Alabama JonesYear 1 · on the roster, no stat line
- High school ChamberlainTampa, FL · Class of 2013Two-star, No. 2,277 in the 2013 class. Signed with South Alabama.
How it ended
Four seasons at South Alabama, 2,670 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 44 games over four seasons.
2013
- Signed with South AlabamaTwo-star, out of Chamberlain
Coaching lineage · 2013–2017
1 coach2013–2017
South Alabama
Played every college season under Joey Jones.