#23

Jaylen Thomas

Senior running back for Kent State. 2023: 460 rushing yards, 2 rushing TD, 3 catches.

RB · Kent State · Sr. · #23

5′10″ · 215 lb · Colorado Springs, CO

CFB Index 26 · #309 of 310 RBsHigh confidenceKent State 2023 alumnus

The story

4 running back for Kent State. 2023: 460 rushing yards, 2 rushing TD, 3 catches.

The record fills in as he plays.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Kent State, 908 rushing yards — his college career is complete.

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

2 teams

2019–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2019–2023

2 coaches

2019

Sean Lewis

Kent State

2021–2022

Sean Lewis

Kent State

2023

Kenni Burns

Kent State

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Sean Lewis → Kenni Burns. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

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

Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

26Below cohort / limited sample #309 of 310?

High confidence12 metrics · season cumulative

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 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).

Situational

Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)

Yardage DNA

130 carries

16%

Stuffed (≤0)

46%

Grind (1–3)

28%

Chunk (4–9)

Explosive (10+)

Splits & context

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

2026 season

Head Coach

Mark Carney

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Starter

A locked-in starting job.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

26 · #309 of 310 RBs

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Kent State	133	460	3.5	2	--
2022	Colorado State	18	46	2.6	0	--
2021	Colorado State	44	180	4.1	2	--
2019	Colorado State	68	222	3.3	3	--
Career		263	908	3.5	7	--

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

Signature game

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

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 7 · Eastern Michigan · 4&2 · Q2 · EPA -4.07Jaylen Thomas run for 1 yd to the EMU 5
Week 3 · Central Connecticut · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.84Jaylen Thomas run for 34 yds to the CCSU 46 for a 1ST down
Week 3 · Central Connecticut · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.66Jaylen Thomas run for 23 yds for a TD (Will Hryszko KICK)
Week 6 · Ohio · 3&14 · Q1 · EPA +2.29Jaylen Thomas run for 14 yds to the KENT 38 for a 1ST down
Week 6 · Ohio · 2&1 · Q2 · EPA -2.11Jaylen Thomas run for a loss of 6 yards to the KENT 28
Week 11 · Bowling Green · 2&2 · Q4 · EPA +2.07Jaylen Thomas run for 2 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
Week 13 · Northern Illinois · 2&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.88Jaylen Thomas run for 10 yds to the KENT 42 for a 1ST down
Week 7 · Eastern Michigan · 3&3 · Q1 · EPA +1.75Jaylen Thomas run for 8 yds to the KENT 41 for a 1ST down
Week 11 · Bowling Green · 3&2 · Q1 · EPA +1.70Jaylen Thomas run for 7 yds to the KENT 46 for a 1ST down
Week 6 · Ohio · 2&6 · Q1 · EPA -1.62Jaylen Thomas run for a loss of 4 yards to the KENT 38

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

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	3.4	2	34

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Jaylen Thomas

2023 snapshot

Situational

Splits & context

Awards

Starter

Career stats

Signature game

Signature plays

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Balanced Back

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