Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 20-13vs Liberty | 15 | 47 | 3.1 | 1 | 7 | |
| Wk 2 | W 87-3vs Wagner | 9 | 52 | 5.8 | 3 | 32 | 3 rushing TDs |
| Wk 3 | W 26-13@ San Diego State | 20 | 82 | 4.1 | 0 | 12 | Season-high 82 yds |
| Total | 44 | 181 | 4.3 | 4 | 32 |
#6
George Pettaway
No.99 4★, national recruit isn't a headline at James Madison anymore — it's just what George Pettaway reliably is.
5′10″ · 200 lb · Suffolk, VA · Nansemond-Suffolk Academy
CFB Index 66 · #45 of 310 RBsHigh confidence
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
How he plays
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
TD rate: 86th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
181
rushing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 52 rush yds, 3 TD, vs Wagner
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
5th-year running back for James Madison. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to North Carolina in 2022.
- Transferred from North Carolina to James Madison in 2024.
George Pettaway
Filling the Shoesas of 2026-09-22
George Pettaway is a cornerstone for James Madison — measured against the line he joined.
181RUSH YDS4RUSH TD44CARRIES
4★ · NATIONAL RECRUIT
No.99
recruiting national rank
Read the story so far
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
202210 games
- Signed with North Carolina4-star out of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy
202413 games
- Entered the portal
202511 games
- All-Sun Belt
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-SUN BELT
All-Sun Belt mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
4 coaches2022
James Madison
2023era →
Damian Wroblewski
James Madison
2024–2025era →
Bob Chesney
James Madison
Played under 4 different head coaches: Curt Cignetti, Damian Wroblewski, Bob Chesney, and Billy Napier. Multi-era developmental context.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 44 | 181 | 4.1 | 4 | -- |
| 2025 | James Madison | 34 | 195 | 5.7 | 0 | -- |
| 2024 | James Madison | 163 | 976 | 6.0 | 5 | -- |
| 2023 | North Carolina | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2022 | North Carolina | 20 | 93 | 4.7 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 261 | 1,445 | 5.5 | 11 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | -- |
| 2025 | James Madison | 9 | 67 | 7.4 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | James Madison | 24 | 197 | 8.2 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | North Carolina | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0 | -- |
| 2022 | North Carolina | 5 | 21 | 4.2 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 40 | 292 | 7.3 | 3 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
George Pettaway'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.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 87–3
vs Wagner
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 2 · Wagner · 4&1 · Q2 · EPA -4.79No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush middle for 12 yards loss to the WAG23 fumbled by #6 G.Pettaway at WAG14 recovered by JMU #7 C.Coleman at WAG23, End Of Play, TURNOVER ON DOWNS
- Week 2 · Wagner · 2&8 · Q2 · EPA +3.29No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush right for 32 yards gain to the WAG00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:09, 1ST DOWN #5 M.Suarez kick attempt good (H: #11 P.Rea, LS: #47 M.Dietzel)
- Week 1 · Liberty · 2&7 · Q1 · EPA +2.61No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush right for 7 yards gain to the LU 00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 04:23 #5 M.Suarez kick attempt good (H: #11 P.Rea, LS: #47 M.Dietzel)
- Week 2 · Wagner · 3&1 · Q1 · EPA +2.45No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush middle for 1 yard gain to the WAG00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 07:46 #5 M.Suarez kick attempt good (H: #11 P.Rea, LS: #47 M.Dietzel)
- Week 2 · Wagner · 2&1 · Q1 · EPA +1.90No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush middle for 1 yard gain to the WAG00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:16 #5 M.Suarez kick attempt good (H: #11 P.Rea, LS: #47 M.Dietzel)
- Week 3 · San Diego State · 2&8 · Q2 · EPA +1.78(06:25) No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush left for 10 yards gain to the JMU48 (#32 C.Ricks), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Wagner · 3&3 · Q1 · EPA +1.72No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush middle for 5 yards gain to the WAG01 (#2 W.Johnston), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · San Diego State · 2&5 · Q4 · EPA -1.52(03:21) Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush right for 4 yards loss to the JMU34 (#21 T.Letuli)
- Week 1 · Liberty · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -1.21No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush middle for 1 yard loss to the JMU35 (#33 A.Vaughan)
- Week 3 · San Diego State · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA -1.14(02:04) No Huddle-Shotgun #6 G.Pettaway rush middle for 0 yards to the JMU48 (#6 M.Finau; #20 J.McLaughlin)
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +94 rushing yards.
Season context · Team result + system
2022North Carolina9-5HC: Mack Brown · Balanced
2023North Carolina8-5HC: Mack Brown · Balanced
2024James Madison9-4HC: Bob Chesney · Run-leaning
2025James Madison12-2HC: Bob Chesney · Run-heavy
2026James Madison3-0HC: Billy Napier · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
High confidence
Elite: td rate (86th percentile). Strength: rush tds (88th percentile). Concern: yards / carry (8th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (8)
Season trend
EPA / carry— first qualifying season
Success rate— first qualifying season
Explosive rate— first qualifying season
Yards / carry— first qualifying season
TD rate— first qualifying season
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
44 of 44 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
46%43 carriesFumble rate
4.5%2 of 44 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer yds20%of carries
9 carries
Grind
1–3 yds32%of carries
14 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds41%of carries
18 carries
Explosive
10+ yds7%of carries
3 carries
4 of 5 (80%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 2 of 5 (40%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
4.1 yds/carry on 44 carries · 7% explosive (10+ yds) · 46% success rate.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 49.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
| Road1g | 82.0 | 4.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 60.3 | 4.3 | 1.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Billy Napier
Pass share
39.6%
72 pass / 110 run
Plays / game
60.7
3 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
80 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Balanced Back
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
RB
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Daijun Edwards’s 2021 season.
Matches Daijun on
Yards / carry
Receiving share
Class year
Differs from Daijun on
Recruiting rating (higher)
Rush TD rate (higher)
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Plez Lawrence’s path through North Carolina Central.
Plez Lawrence
100%match
#2
Julius Loughridge
98%
Matches Plez on
Yards per carry
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Tre Siggers's graduate season at SMU (2022).
75%match
Matches Tre on
Total rush EPA (college ability)
Weight
Height
Differs from Tre on
Rush TD rate (higher)
Receiving share (lower)
Player DNA
Players who play like George Pettaway
Background
2026: Preseason Second Team All-Sun Belt running back 2025: Played in 12 games Had 34 carries for 195 rushing yards, averaging 5.7 per rush Also had nine receptions for 67 receiving yards and a touchdown and had two kickoff returns for 38 yards (19.0) with a long of 24 Season-high 99 rushing…
The backfield · James Madison
- #6George Pettaway195 rushing yards · 2025
- #21Jackson Mccarter18 rushing yards · 2025
- #22Trashon Dye12 rushing yards · 2025
- #20Malachi Fannin-Render6 rushing yards · 2025
- #34Seth Cromwell2 games · 2026
2 more on the roster · James Madison team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology