Last confirmed: Tennessee, 2017. No 2026 box-score games on record.
5′9″ · 205 lb · Detroit, MI
John Kelly: RB · Tennessee · #4.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
John Kelly
Wins in space out of the backfield. He has spent three seasons in the Tennessee backfield. On tape: 141 rushing yards and 96 receiving yards against Florida, Week 3, 2017.
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 19.7% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 26.6% of his carries. 9 carries for 17 yds vs Missouri; 19 for 141 vs Florida.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
Not actually a closer
50.7% of carries overall (188/371) → 37.5% of Q4-with-lead carries (15/40) — 93.3% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
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
8 of 13 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (61.5%). 11 of the team's 15 inside-the-5 carries (73.3%).
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Sports Illustrated Oct 21
Bleacher Report Oct 19
Knoxville News Sentinel Oct 14Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-41@ Georgia Tech | 19 | 128 | 6.7 | 4 | 30 | 4 rushing TDs |
| Wk 2 | W 42-7vs Indiana State | 18 | 80 | 4.4 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 3 | L 20-26@ No. 24 Florida | 19 | 141 | 7.4 | 1 | 38 | Season-high 141 yds |
| Wk 4 | W 17-13vs Massachusetts | 25 | 101 | 4.0 | 1 | 27 | |
| Wk 5 | L 0-41vs No. 7 Georgia | 16 | 44 | 2.8 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 7 | L 9-15vs South Carolina | 16 | 58 | 3.6 | 0 | 24 | |
| Wk 8 | L 7-45@ No. 1 Alabama | 12 | 63 | 5.3 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 10 | W 24-10vs Southern Miss | 20 | 79 | 4.0 | 2 | 20 | |
| Wk 11 | L 17-50@ Missouri | 9 | 17 | 1.9 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 12 | L 10-30vs No. 21 LSU | 25 | 47 | 1.9 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 13 | L 24-42vs Vanderbilt | 10 | 20 | 2.0 | 1 | 9 | |
| Total | 189 | 778 | 4.1 | 9 | 38 |
Week 1 · 2017
W 42-41
vs Georgia Tech · neutral site
128 rush yds (19 car) · 4 TD · 5 rec · 35 yds
Edged out Georgia Tech at a neutral site in a shootout.
With T. Daniel — 47 yards per punt · 6 punts · 70 long · Q. Dormady — 221 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 66.3 · 13 rush yds (2 car)
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
36%188 carriesFumble rate
0.5%1 of 189 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.1 yds/carry on 189 carries · 11% explosive (10+ yds) · 36% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
3 seasons under Butch Jones — 22-16 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 61.3 | 3.2 | 0.6 |
| Road3g | 73.7 | 4.9 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 92.0 | 4.8 | 1.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 45.2 | 3.0 | 0.6 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Butch Jones
Pass share
44.1%
319 pass / 405 run
Plays / game
60.3
12 games
Team sack rate
9.4%
363 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2017
189 carries, 37 catches and 1 pass attempt in 11 games, more touches a game than nearly every FBS running back who plays every week.
How it ended
Three seasons at Tennessee, 1,573 rushing yards — drafted at #176 overall by the Los Angeles Rams.
His career
He has a stat line in 27 games over 3 seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2015–2017
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Butch Jones.
Where he ended up · NFL
Los Angeles RamsEntering 9th NFL season
Los Angeles RamsEntering 9th NFL season
