Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 15-10@ TCU | 4 | 94 | 23.5 | 0 | 35 | Season-high 94 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 35-3vs East Tennessee State | 4 | 71 | 17.8 | 1 | 25 | |
| Wk 3 | L 20-28@ Clemson | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Total | 11 | 183 | 15.8 | 1 | 35 |
#45
Jelani Thurman
Redshirt junior tight end for North Carolina. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
6′6″ · 250 lb · Fairburn, GA · Langston Hughes
Transferred Ohio State → North Carolina for 2026
How he plays
Creates mismatches lined up all over the formation.
Explosive rate: 90th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
183
receiving yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far
Swing playSwung TCU from 48% to 68% to win.North Carolina at TCU · 15-10
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Redshirt junior tight end for North Carolina. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Ohio State in 2023.
- Transferred from Ohio State to North Carolina in 2026.
In Their Words
180 windows · 2026 fan posts
jelani×405.1north×13.2carolina×10.1transfer×8.0
“Oh if we are going by top 25 at their position that makes it even easier for me to find lists of players. Jelani Thurman off the top of my head to start with”
reddit/OhioStateFootball · fan post, verbatim
Jelani Thurman
Creates mismatches lined up all over the formation. Across four seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Ryan Day and Bill Belichick. The receipt: 94 rec yds, 4 receptions against TCU — Week 1, 2026.
183 REC YDS · 11 REC · 1 REC TD
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with Ohio State4-star out of Langston Hughes
20263 games
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coaches2023
North Carolina
2024era →
Freddie Kitchens
North Carolina
2025–2026era →
Bill Belichick
North Carolina
Played under 3 different head coaches: Mack Brown, Freddie Kitchens, and Bill Belichick. Multi-era developmental context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to North Carolina
2025Ohio State
2026North Carolina
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | North Carolina | 11 | 183 | 16.6 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | Ohio State | 7 | 84 | 12.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 4 | 42 | 10.5 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 24 | 327 | 13.6 | 3 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
Jelani Thurman'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 15–10
at TCU
4 rec · 94 yds
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 5 on the road.
With B. Edwards — 232 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 77.2 · -4 rush yds (7 car) · A. Burrell — 41.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · TCU · 2&12 · Q4 · EPA +2.83(02:25) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short right to #45 J.Thurman caught at UNC22, for 25 yards to the UNC46 (#1 V.Glover; #2 J.Johnson), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 2&1 · Q1 · EPA +2.18(09:56) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short left to #45 J.Thurman caught at ETS24, for 24 yards to the ETS00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 09:48, 1ST DOWN #92 A.Burrell kick attempt good (H: #93 J.Horvath, LS: #48 G.Burt)
- Week 1 · TCU · 2&7 · Q1 · EPA +2.12(13:45) No Huddle-Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete deep middle to #45 J.Thurman caught at TCU30, for 35 yards to the TCU17 (#7 J.Simms), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · TCU · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.80(14:59) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short right to #45 J.Thurman caught at UNC23, for 20 yards to the UNC45 (#4 G.Jackson), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +0.72(10:35) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short right to #45 J.Thurman caught at ETS31, for 9 yards to the ETS24 (#5 J.Bowdry; #33 D.Delinois)
- Week 3 · Clemson · 2&5 · Q1 · EPA +0.70(12:51) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short right to #45 J.Thurman caught at CLEM43, for 12 yards to the CLEM30 (#22 C.Myrick), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 2&19 · Q3 · EPA +0.69(07:21) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short right to #45 J.Thurman caught at UNC22, for 13 yards to the UNC37 (#2 M.Jenkins)
- Week 2 · East Tennessee State · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +0.46(04:24) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete deep middle to #45 J.Thurman caught at ETS12, for 25 yards to the ETS10, End Of Play, 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · TCU · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +0.26(11:36) No Huddle-Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short right to #45 J.Thurman caught at TCU31, for 14 yards to the TCU17 (#18 K.McFadden), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Clemson · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA -0.18(04:51) Shotgun #9 B.Edwards Jr. pass complete short middle to #45 J.Thurman caught at CLEM29, for 3 yards to the CLEM28 (#6 J.Carter III; #5 R.Hanafin)
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +18 receiving yards, +3 catches.
Season context · Team result + system
2023Ohio State11-2HC: Ryan Day · Balanced
2024Ohio State14-2HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025Ohio State12-2HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning
2026North Carolina2-1HC: Bill Belichick · Run-leaning, slow tempo
Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: explosive rate (90th percentile). Strength: yards / catch (86th percentile). Concern: catch rate (4th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (5)
Season trend
EPA / target— first qualifying season
Explosive rate— first qualifying season
Catch rate— first qualifying season
TD rate— first qualifying season
Yards / catch— 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).
Receiving profile
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
11 of 11 receptions matched to play-by-play
21 of 21 targets charted for true throw depth
Targets
2128% of team targetsCatch rate
52%11 of 21 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
33% of targets (7)
57%catch rate
Air -2.0 · YAC 14.0 avg
Short · 0–9 air yds
38% of targets (8)
62%catch rate
Air 1.8 · YAC 14.0 avg
Middle · 10–19 air yds
14% of targets (3)
0%catch rate
Air 13.0 avg
Deep · 20+ air yds
14% of targets (3)
67%catch rate
Air 26.0 · YAC 7.5 avg
52% catch rate on 21 targets · 28% of the team's targets.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 4.0 | 71.0 | 17.8 | 1.0 |
| Road2g | 3.5 | 56.0 | 14.8 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 3.7 | 61.0 | 15.8 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bill Belichick
Pass share
46.9%
84 pass / 95 run
Plays / game
59.7
3 games
Team sack rate
6.5%
92 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Lined up out wide as often as inline. Creates mismatches downfield.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Move TE
Lined up out wide as often as inline. Creates mismatches downfield.
TE
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Blake Jarwin’s 2016 season.
Matches Blake on
Reception volume
TD rate
Yards / reception
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Austin Stogner’s path through Oklahoma.
81%match
All-Big 12
Matches Austin on
Height
Recruiting rating
Yards per reception
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Gunnar Oakes's senior season at Eastern Michigan (2021).
69%match
Matches Gunnar on
EPA / play (adj)
Weight
Height
Differs from Gunnar on
Class year (lower)
Yards / reception (higher)
Background
Honors & Awards 2024 OSU Scholar-Athlete, Academic All-Big Ten Conference 2023OSU Scholar-Athlete 2025 Redshirt Sophomore Season at Ohio State Appeared in all 14 games for the Buckeyes in 2025 Finished the season with seven receptions for 84 yards with a touchdown Caught three passes for 44…
The tight end room · North Carolina
- #80Jordan Washington109 receiving yards · 2025
- #19Jaxxon Warren95 receiving yards · 2025
- #45Jelani Thurman84 receiving yards · 2025
- #84Shamar Easter17 receiving yards · 2025
- #88Deems Mayno box-score line yet
2 more on the roster · North Carolina team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology