Jaylen Thomas

#23 · RB · Sr. · Kent State5′10″ · 215 lb · Colorado Springs, CO

Jaylen Thomas: RB · Kent State · #23.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Justice EllisonWake Forest · 2022 · 84% season match
Corey KinerCincinnati · 2022 · 82% season match
Cam PorterNorthwestern · 2022 · 75% season match
Rahjai HarrisEast Carolina · 2023 · 74% season match
Leshon WilliamsIowa · 2022 · 74% season match

Jaylen Thomas

RB · Kent State · Sr · #23

Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Played for four head coaches across four seasons and two programs. On tape: 94 rushing yards against Eastern Michigan, Week 7, 2023.

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
2023	Kent State	133	460	3.5	2	34
2022	Colorado State	18	46	2.6	0	9
2021	Colorado State	44	180	4.1	2	17
2019	Colorado State	68	222	3.3	3	14
Career		263	908	3.5	7	34

Season	Team
2023	Kent State	3	16	5.3	7
2022	Colorado State	15	116	7.7	27
2021	Colorado State	1	6	6.0	6
2019	Colorado State	14	113	8.1	25
Career		33	251	7.6	27

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 2	L 6-28@ Arkansas	5	1	0.2	0	4
Wk 3	W 38-10vs Central Connecticut	7	70	10.0	1	34
Wk 4	L 10-53@ Fresno State	4	8	2.0	0	9
Wk 6	L 17-42@ Ohio	24	67	2.8	0	14
Wk 7	L 14-28@ Eastern Michigan	23	94	4.1	0	14	Season-high 94 yds
Wk 8	L 6-24vs Buffalo	17	65	3.8	0	29
Wk 10	L 27-31@ Akron	14	36	2.6	0	9
Wk 11	L 19-49vs Bowling Green	18	73	4.1	1	13
Wk 12	L 3-34@ Ball State	11	24	2.2	0	17
Wk 13	L 27-37vs Northern Illinois	10	22	2.2	0	10
Total		133	460	3.5	2	34

Signature game

Week 3 · 2023

W 38-10

vs Central Connecticut

70 rush yds (7 car) · 1 TD

Dominant 28-point win at home against Central Connecticut.

With M. Alaimo — 172 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 47.3 · 18 rush yds (5 car) · 1 TD · G. Garcia — 125 rush yds (21 car) · 2 TD

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 7 · Eastern Michigan · 4th and 2 · Q2 · EPA −4.07Jaylen Thomas run for 1 yd to the EMU 5
Week 3 · Central Connecticut · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.84Jaylen Thomas run for 34 yds to the CCSU 46 for a
Week 3 · Central Connecticut · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.66Jaylen Thomas run for 23 yds for a TD (Will Hryszko KICK)
Week 6 · Ohio · 3rd and 14 · Q1 · EPA +2.29Jaylen Thomas run for 14 yds to the KENT 38 for a
Week 6 · Ohio · 2nd and 1 · Q2 · EPA −2.11Jaylen Thomas run for a loss of 6 yards to the KENT 28
Week 11 · Bowling Green · 2nd and 2 · Q4 · EPA +2.07Jaylen Thomas run for 2 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)

4 more plays

Week 13 · Northern Illinois · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +1.88Jaylen Thomas run for 10 yds to the KENT 42 for a
Week 7 · Eastern Michigan · 3rd and 3 · Q1 · EPA +1.75Jaylen Thomas run for 8 yds to the KENT 41 for a
Week 11 · Bowling Green · 3rd and 2 · Q1 · EPA +1.70Jaylen Thomas run for 7 yds to the KENT 46 for a
Week 6 · Ohio · 2nd and 6 · Q1 · EPA −1.62Jaylen Thomas run for a loss of 4 yards to the KENT 38

Rushing profile

Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security

How he gets his yards, and how often it works

133 car · 460 yds · 2 TD

130 of 133 carries matched to play-by-play

Success rate

29%130 carries

Stuffed

0 or fewer yds

16%of carries

21 carries

Grind

1–3 yds

46%of carries

60 carries

Chunk

4–9 yds

28%of carries

37 carries

Explosive

10+ yds

9%of carries

12 carries

4 of 9 (44%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 1 of 3 (33%) scored from inside the 5-yard line

3.5 yds/carry on 133 carries · 9% explosive (10+ yds) · 29% success rate.

Situational

Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)

Yardage DNA

130 carries

16%

Stuffed (≤0)

46%

Grind (1–3)

28%

Chunk (4–9)

Explosive (10+)

Teams and coaches

2019Colorado State4-8HC: Mike Bobo · Balanced

2021Colorado State3-9HC: Steve Addazio · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2022Colorado State3-9HC: Jay Norvell · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2023Kent State1-11HC: Kenni Burns · Run-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 26 (#309 of 310). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2023 season

26Below cohort / limited sample #309 of 310 · 2023?

12 metrics · season cumulative

2023 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Concern: success rate (2nd percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Explosive rate#358 / 426 · 16th pct

3.8%

TD rate#393 / 426 · 8th pct

1.5%

Yards / carry#394 / 426 · 8th pct

3.9

EPA / carry#412 / 426 · 3rd pct

-0.10

Success rate#418 / 426 · 2nd pct

29.2%

Box-score rates (7)

Carries#96 / 333 · 71st pct

133

Rush yards#176 / 333 · 47th pct

460

Long run#221 / 333 · 32nd pct

Rush TDs#218 / 333 · 27th pct

Rec yards#294 / 327 · 10th pct

Receptions#292 / 327 · 9th pct

Yards / carry#309 / 333 · 7th pct

3.5

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 in 2023. 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).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Home4g	57.5	5.0	0.5
Road6g	38.3	2.3	0.0

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	48.0	3.8	0.2
Weeks 8+5g	44.0	3.0	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2023 season

Head Coach

Kenni Burns

Pass share

41.1%

306 pass / 439 run

Plays / game

62.1

12 games

Team sack rate

11.5%

331 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Starter

133 carries and 3 catches in 10 games, about as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

26 · #309 of 310 RBs · 2023

Jaylen Thomas

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Rushing profile

Situational

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

Starter

Five seasons, two schools