Dashed line: 100 yards.
Jones against New Mexico State’s best seasons, game by game
Backs who run like Jones, and how their seasons went
Jones against this year’s top backs, game by game
The road ahead: 889 yards, 111 a game, 4 regular-season games left.
Already their own best season; their previous best was 336, in 2024.
3 stories in the last 30 days, from 5 outlets.
New Mexico State leans on James Jones, defense to outlast Sam Houston, 30-24
Underdog Dynasty +2 Oct 22
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 the carries with a spot in the play text: left 27, middle 95, right 14. The longest went for 54 yards.
James Jones
James Jones takes over from Kadarius Calloway at New Mexico State.
Rushing value per play
+0.19
our model · 2026 · 123 plays
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-05
Play style
Hits the crease and outruns the angle.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 23.5% of the season's rushing yards came on the 5 best carries — remarkably even — and the back is stuffed on 8.7% of carries. 11 carries for 28 yds vs Florida State; 27 for 178 vs Sam Houston.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 5 outlets
New Mexico State leans on James Jones, defense to outlast Sam Houston, 30-24
Underdog Dynasty +2 Oct 22 · 3 outlets
from 6 outlets
New Mexico State leans on James Jones, defense to outlast Sam Houston, 30-24
Underdog Dynasty +2 Oct 22 · 3 outlets
Underdog Dynasty +2
New Mexico State University AthleticsEach week: the team’s game, the stories about this player that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
New Mexico State4 stories2026 to nowMost about: awards and watch lists, performance and stat line.
Underdog Dynasty +2New Mexico State leans on James Jones, defense to outlast Sam Houston, 30-24Oct 22New Mexico State University AthleticsJames Jones Earns Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week HonorsOct 5
CBS SportsJames Jones powers New Mexico State past Sam Houston 30-24Oct 22
UL Monroe2024not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 5.
Aura™ · Him Watch
Aura compares how much fans talk about this player with how well this player plays, each ranked among RBs.
−1aura tax
47th percentile our rushing-value metric (weighted expected points added) ranked among 104 RBs
— the talk and the play rank about the same.Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New Mexico State | 139 | 889 | 6.4 | 4 | 54 |
| 2024 | UL Monroe | 79 | 336 | 4.3 | 1 | 24 |
| Career | 218 | 1,225 | 5.6 | 5 | 54 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New Mexico State | 8 | 50 | 6.2 | 1 | 18 |
| 2024 | UL Monroe | 4 | 80 | 20.0 | 2 | 41 |
| Career | 12 | 130 | 10.8 | 3 | 41 |
Last game (Wk 9): 112 rushing yards.
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 | L 17-34@ Florida State | 11 | 28 | 2.5 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 1 | W 51-14vs Mercyhurst | 19 | 137 | 7.2 | 1 | 46 | |
| Wk 2 | L 19-29@ Hawai'i | 13 | 78 | 6.0 | 1 | 15 | |
| Wk 4 | L 18-42vs New Mexico | 14 | 112 | 8.0 | 0 | 54 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-13vs Western Kentucky | 20 | 155 | 7.8 | 1 | 46 | 155-yard day |
| Wk 6 | L 3-22@ Florida International | 15 | 89 | 5.9 | 0 | 27 | |
| Wk 8 | W 30-24@ Sam Houston | 27 | 178 | 6.6 | 1 | 31 | Season-high 178 yds |
| Wk 9 | L 0-24vs Jacksonville State | 20 | 112 | 5.6 | 0 | 21 | |
| Total | 139 | 889 | 6.4 | 4 | 54 |
Oct. 28 · L 0-24 vs Jacksonville State, play by play
20 carries for 112 yards.
3-yard run on 3rd and 3. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
21-yard run. First quarter, tied 0-0.
5-yard run on 3rd and 2. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
No gain on 3rd and 1. Second quarter, down 7-0.
A big game: 27 carries for 178 yards and a touchdown, 5th-most in FBS that week. In the fourth quarter, with New Mexico State ahead by one score, James Jones carried 4 times for 39 yards. James Jones converted a 4th and 2 with New Mexico State up 30-24.
2-yard run on 3rd and 3. First quarter, down 7-0.
31-yard run. Third quarter, down 17-14.
3-yard run on 3rd and 5. Fourth quarter, up 30-24.
2-yard run on 4th and 2. Fourth quarter, up 30-24. 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.
15 carries for 89 yards. James Jones also caught 3 passes for 19 yards.
27-yard run. First quarter, tied 0-0.
4-yard run on 3rd and 5. Second quarter, down 7-0. 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.
20 carries for 155 yards and a touchdown. Of 20 carries, 5 went 10 yards or more; the longest went 46.
46-yard run. First quarter, down 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.
14 carries for 112 yards.
54-yard run. First quarter, down 7-0.
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.
13 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown.
18-yard catch. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2-yard run on 3rd and 3. Fourth quarter, down 22-19.
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.
19 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown.
The per-play feed is missing 1 of the carries (8 yards), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 18 carries it has.
4-yard run on 3rd and 1. First quarter, tied 7-7. Converted.
46-yard touchdown run. Second quarter, made it 23-14.
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 28 yards.
10-yard run on 3rd and 23. Third quarter, down 17-7.
3-yard run on 4th and 1. Fourth quarter, down 34-17. 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.
Week 1 · 2026
W 51-14
vs Mercyhurst
137 rush yds (19 car) · 1 TD
Dominant 37-point win at home against Mercyhurst.
With T. Washington Jr. — 43 rush yds (7 car) · 2 TD · 1 rec · 32 yds · T. Hedden — 253 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 36.8
The plays that mattered most
13th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -18 to +9 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How the yards come, and how often it works
Success rate
46%138 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds6.4 yds/carry on 139 carries · 17% explosive (10+ yds) · 46% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 129 | 7.2 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 93.2 | 5.2 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 99.8 | 6.2 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 145 | 6.1 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tony Sanchez
Pass share
48.3%
243 pass / 260 run
Plays / game
62.9
8 games
Team sack rate
4.9%
267 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
139 carries and 8 catches in 8 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Unranked recruit. Now #17 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Bryant Vincent and Tony Sanchez.
