Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 55-3vs Maine | 7 | 66 | 9.4 | 0 | 39 | Season-high 66 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 27-24@ East Carolina | 7 | 19 | 2.7 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 3 | W 26-21vs Charlotte | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 4 | |
| Total | 16 | 92 | 5.2 | 0 | 39 |
#11
Ja'Quez Cross
Senior running back for App State. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
5′9″ · 195 lb · Hampton, AR
CFB Index 53 · #106 of 310 RBsHigh confidenceTransferred Arkansas State → App State for 2026
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.
The numbers
92
rushing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 66 rush yds, 18 rec yds, vs Maine
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior running back for App State. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Purdue in 2021.
- Transferred from Arkansas State to App State in 2026.
Ja'Quez Cross
Wins in space out of the backfield. Across six seasons and three programs, three head coaches: Jeff Brohm, Butch Jones and Dowell Loggains. Three straight seasons of it now: All-Sun Belt again in 2025. The receipt on tape: 66 rush yds, 18 rec yds against Maine, Week 1, 2026.
92 RUSH YDS · 0 RUSH TD · 16 CARRIES
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
20213 games
- Signed with Purdue3-star out of Fordyce
20227 games
The role got bigger.
- Entered the portal
202313 games
- All-Sun Beltthird
202413 games
- All-Sun Belt
2025
The snaps went the other way.
- All-Sun Belt
20263 games
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
3 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-SUN BELT
All-Sun Belt mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2021–2026
2 coaches2021–2024
App State
2025–2026era →
Dowell Loggains
App State
Coaching transition mid-career: Shawn Clark → Dowell Loggains. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to App State
2025Arkansas State
2026App State
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | App State | 16 | 92 | 5.8 | 0 | -- |
| 2025 | Arkansas State | 8 | 36 | 4.5 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Arkansas State | 115 | 638 | 5.5 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | Arkansas State | 128 | 716 | 5.6 | 7 | -- |
| 2022 | Arkansas State | 24 | 92 | 3.8 | 0 | -- |
| 2021 | Purdue | 13 | 27 | 2.1 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 304 | 1,601 | 5.3 | 10 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | App State | 4 | 29 | 7.2 | 0 | -- |
| 2025 | Arkansas State | 5 | 33 | 6.6 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Arkansas State | 35 | 228 | 6.5 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Arkansas State | 24 | 161 | 6.7 | 0 | -- |
| 2022 | Arkansas State | 10 | 56 | 5.6 | 0 | -- |
| 2021 | Purdue | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 79 | 513 | 6.5 | 2 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
Ja'Quez Cross'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 1 · 2026
W 55–3
vs Maine
66 rush yds (7 car)
Dominant 52-point win at home against Maine.
With M. Singleton — 291 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · -9 rush yds (5 car) · N. Branch — 44 rush yds (2 car) · 1 TD
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Maine · 2&8 · Q1 · EPA +3.62(06:58) No Huddle-Shotgun #11 J.Cross rush middle for 39 yards gain to the MNE37 (#8 J.Gibson), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Maine · 2&9 · Q3 · EPA +2.10(00:11) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 H.Hasselbeck pass complete short right to #11 J.Cross caught at App27, for 16 yards to the App42 (#10 S.Oppenheimer), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Maine · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -1.28(14:33) No Huddle-Shotgun #11 J.Cross rush middle for 1 yard loss to the MNE48 (#6 B.Isaiah)
- Week 2 · East Carolina · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -0.99(10:31) Shotgun #11 J.Cross rush left for 1 yard loss to the APP29 (#9 K.DuJour)
- Week 2 · East Carolina · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA -0.96(04:04) Shotgun #11 J.Cross rush right for 0 yards to the APP33 (#11 D.Johnson Jr.; #42 J.Davis)
- Week 2 · East Carolina · 2&10 · Q1 · EPA -0.73(02:03) Shotgun #11 J.Cross rush middle for 0 yards to the ECU29 (#42 J.Davis; #1 J.Barker)
- Week 2 · East Carolina · 3&12 · Q3 · EPA +0.53(04:47) Shotgun #3 M.Singleton pass complete short middle to #11 J.Cross caught at ECU26, for 8 yards to the ECU19 (#5 K.Davis)
- Week 1 · Maine · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +0.44(10:51) No Huddle-Shotgun #11 J.Cross rush left for 14 yards gain to the MNE07 (#21 E.Wiggins Jr.; #10 S.Oppenheimer), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Maine · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA -0.40(07:34) Shotgun #3 M.Singleton pass complete short left to #11 J.Cross caught at App19, for 2 yards to the App24 (#22 S.Keyes-Wilson; #11 K.Pressley)
- Week 3 · Charlotte · 2&10 · Q3 · EPA -0.40(00:47) No Huddle-Shotgun #11 J.Cross rush right for 3 yards gain to the CLT48 (#13 G.Willis)
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +7 rushing yards, +1 catch.
Season context · Team result + system
2021Purdue9-4HC: Jeff Brohm · Pass-leaning, fast tempo
2022Arkansas State3-9HC: Butch Jones · Balanced
2023Arkansas State6-7HC: Butch Jones · Run-leaning
2024Arkansas State8-5HC: Butch Jones · Balanced
2025Arkansas State7-6HC: Butch Jones · Balanced
2026App State3-0HC: Dowell Loggains · Balanced, fast tempo
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
High confidence
Concern: rush yards (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (8)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 36.5 | 6.5 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 19.0 | 2.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 30.7 | 5.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dowell Loggains
Pass share
47.7%
112 pass / 123 run
Plays / game
78.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.7%
110 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
CFB Index positional classification
Starter
Returning starter at running back for a 5-8 App State team that went -5 in the portal. The No. 1,463 recruit in the country is carrying the ball in the Sun Belt as a senior.
DNA match
Player DNA
Satellite Back
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
RB
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Zahir Abdus-Salaam’s 2024 season.
Matches Zahir on
Receiving share
Weight
Total rush EPA (college ability)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Zahir Abdus-Salaam's senior season at Western Michigan (2024).
80%match
Matches Zahir on
Receiving share
Weight
Total rush EPA (college ability)
Player DNA
Players who play like Ja'Quez Cross
The backfield · App State
- #5Jaquari Lewis188 rushing yards · 2026
- #11Ja'Quez Cross92 rushing yards · 2026
- #39Treyaun Webb56 rushing yards · 2026
- #2Kanye Roberts31 rushing yards · 2026
- #20Jaylon Calhoun14 rushing yards · 2026
4 more on the roster · App State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology