Wake Forest · L 7-51
No carries.
Middlebrook has carries in 8 of Virginia’s 9 games: none against Wake Forest.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
7 stories in the last 30 days, from 7 outlets.
Augusta Free Press +2 Oct 28
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 25, middle 54, right 26. The longest went for 29 yards.
Jekail Middlebrook
Jekail Middlebrook takes over from J'mari Taylor at Virginia.
PRODUCES ABOVE PERCEPTION · PCTL GAP
+39
perception vs production percentile · 2026
Virginia fans are litigating the player's worthiness — the eye test against the résumé.
Minority viewA vocal minority sees it the other way.
The production (74th) is outrunning the reputation (35th). The recognition is the thing lagging behind.
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-05
Play style
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 19.0% of the season's rushing yards came on the 5 best carries — remarkably even — and the back is stuffed on 12.5% of carries. 3 carries for 15 yds vs Norfolk State; 24 for 117 vs Duke.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
9 of 11 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (81.8%). 6 of the team's 17 inside-the-5 carries (35.3%).
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 7 outlets
Augusta Free Press +2 Oct 28 · 3 outlets
from 8 outlets
Augusta Free Press +2 Oct 28 · 3 outlets
CBS SportsEach week: the team’s game, the stories about this player that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
Virginia8 stories2026 to nowMost about: performance and stat line.
Augusta Free Press +2Virginia football RB Jekail Middlebrook listed as doubtful for game at Wake Forest - Richmond Times-DispatchOct 28CBS SportsVirginia rallies past Syracuse behind Jekail MiddlebrookOct 11Virginia CavaliersJekail Middlebrook Postgame - Syracuse 10.10.26Oct 11Virginia CavaliersSyracuse - Jekail Middlebrook Post GameOct 11
Middle Tennessee1 story2023 to 2025Most about: recruiting.
Sports IllustratedVirginia Lands Former Middle Tennessee State RB Jekail MiddlebrookJan 4Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 5.
Fans first named Jekail Middlebrook vs NC State.
The Daily ProgressOct 30
247SportsOct 29
Yahoo SportsOct 23Aura™ · Him Watch
Aura compares how much fans talk about this player with how well this player plays, each ranked among RBs.
−39aura tax
73rd percentile our rushing-value metric (weighted expected points added) ranked among 104 RBs
— the play ranks higher than the talk.Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Virginia | 105 | 513 | 4.9 | 4 | 29 |
| 2025 | Middle Tennessee | 140 | 752 | 5.4 | 4 | 72 |
| 2024 | Middle Tennessee | 60 | 273 | 4.5 | 2 | 24 |
| 2023 | Middle Tennessee | 18 | 85 | 4.7 | 2 | 25 |
| Career | 323 | 1,623 | 5.0 | 12 | 72 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Virginia | 12 | 78 | 6.5 | 1 | 12 |
| 2025 | Middle Tennessee | 40 | 412 | 10.3 | 3 | 48 |
| 2024 | Middle Tennessee | 22 | 163 | 7.4 | 1 | 24 |
| 2023 | Middle Tennessee | 4 | 31 | 7.8 | 0 | 21 |
| Career | 78 | 684 | 8.8 | 5 | 48 |
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 | W 34-8vs NC State | 15 | 64 | 4.3 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 2 | W 59-3vs Norfolk State | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 3 | L 27-38vs West Virginia | 17 | 75 | 4.4 | 1 | 16 | |
| Wk 4 | W 42-3vs Delaware | 5 | 23 | 4.6 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-38@ Florida State | 10 | 65 | 6.5 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 6 | W 28-25vs Syracuse | 17 | 95 | 5.6 | 2 | 29 | |
| Wk 7 | L 13-23@ No. 24 SMU | 14 | 59 | 4.2 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 8 | L 16-19vs Duke | 24 | 117 | 4.9 | 1 | 21 | Season-high 117 yds |
| Total | 105 | 513 | 4.9 | 4 | 29 |
Oct. 23 · L 16-19 vs Duke, play by play
24 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown, a season high. Jekail Middlebrook converted a 4th and 1 with Virginia down 7-0.
1-yard touchdown run on 4th and 1. First quarter, made it 7-7.
10-yard run on 4th and 1. Second quarter, tied 7-7. Converted.
1-yard run on 3rd and 5. Second quarter, tied 7-7.
21-yard run. Second quarter, up 10-7.
14 carries for 59 yards. Jekail Middlebrook converted a 4th and 1 with the score tied 0-0. Jekail Middlebrook also caught 3 passes for 19 yards.
4-yard catch on 3rd and 5. First quarter, tied 0-0.
4-yard run on 4th and 1. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
12-yard catch. First quarter, down 3-0.
3-yard run on 3rd and 1. Second quarter, down 3-0. 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.
17 carries for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, with Virginia ahead by one score, Jekail Middlebrook carried 4 times for 11 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a 29-yard run in the fourth quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 16 carries it has.
1-yard loss on 3rd and 4. First quarter, tied 7-7.
20-yard run on 4th and 5. Second quarter, down 17-7. Converted.
5-yard touchdown run on 3rd and 5. Fourth quarter, made it 28-17.
1-yard loss on 3rd and 3. Fourth quarter, up 28-25.
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.
10 carries for 65 yards.
13-yard run. First quarter, tied 0-0.
12-yard catch on 3rd and 3. First quarter, up 7-0. Converted.
12-yard catch on 3rd and 16. First quarter, up 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.
5 carries for 23 yards.
11-yard catch. First quarter, tied 0-0.
3-yard run on 3rd and 4. First quarter, up 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.
17 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown.
3-yard run on 3rd and 1. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
3-yard loss on 3rd and 2. Second quarter, tied 14-14.
0-yard catch on 3rd and 4. Third quarter, down 21-14.
16-yard run. Fourth quarter, down 28-21.
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.
3 carries for 15 yards.
7-yard run on 3rd and 4. Third quarter, up 28-3. 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 64 yards.
15-yard run. Second quarter, up 17-0.
2-yard run on 4th and 1. Fourth quarter, up 24-8. 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 8 · 2026
L 16-19
vs Duke
117 rush yds (24 car) · 1 TD
With D. Sparks — 56.2 yards per punt · 5 punts · 2 inside the 20 · B. Pribula — 158 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · QBR 38.6 · 66 rush yds (21 car)
The plays that mattered most
73rd in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Ratings of the games shown run from -12 to +13 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
50%103 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.9 yds/carry on 105 carries · 9% explosive (10+ yds) · 50% success rate.
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often the receiver is targeted, and how well it works
Targets
167% of team targetsCatch rate
75%12 of 16 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
75% catch rate on 16 targets · 7% of the team's targets.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 62.8 | 4.9 | 0.6 |
| Road2g | 62.0 | 5.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 56.6 | 4.9 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 117 | 4.9 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tony Elliott
Pass share
42.2%
253 pass / 347 run
Plays / game
66.7
9 games
Team sack rate
9.4%
299 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
2026 is in progress.
Recruited without a star rating, and honored since.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE USA
All-Conference USA mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Rick Stockstill, Derek Mason and Tony Elliott.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Virginia
