Last confirmed: Central Michigan, 2019. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′0″ · 202 lb · Kankakee, IL · Bishop McNamara
Jonathan Ward: RB · Central Michigan · #5.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Jonathan Ward
Wins in space out of the backfield. Jonathan Ward has been at Central Michigan through two head coaches in four seasons. A game that shows it: 158 rushing yards and 53 receiving yards against UAlbany — Week 1, 2019.
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 24.9% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 8.6% of his carries. 1 carry for 3 yds vs Wisconsin; 22 for 165 vs UAlbany.
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
32.7% of carries overall (160/489) → 16.8% of Q4-with-lead carries (17/101) — 64.7% 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
9 of 12 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (75.0%). 12 of the team's 30 inside-the-5 carries (40.0%).
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
PFSN Oct 21Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Central Michigan | 183 | 1,108 | 6.1 | 15 |
| 2018 | Central Michigan | 76 | 212 | 2.8 | 1 |
| 2017 | Central Michigan | 179 | 1,017 | 5.7 | 10 |
| 2016 | Central Michigan | 36 | 200 | 5.6 | 2 |
| Career | 474 | 2,537 | 5.4 | 28 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Central Michigan | 34 | 329 | 9.7 | 1 |
| 2018 | Central Michigan | 8 | 41 | 5.1 | 0 |
| 2017 | Central Michigan | 48 | 470 | 9.8 | 3 |
| 2016 | Central Michigan | 8 | 69 | 8.6 | 0 |
| Career | 98 | 909 | 9.3 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2019 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-21vs UAlbany | 22 | 158 | 7.2 | 2 | 21 | 158-yard day |
| Wk 2 | L 0-61@ No. 17 Wisconsin | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 5 | L 15-31@ Western Michigan | 19 | 107 | 5.6 | 0 | 23 | |
| Wk 6 | W 42-16vs Eastern Michigan | 12 | 132 | 11.0 | 2 | 86 | |
| Wk 7 | W 42-28vs New Mexico State | 18 | 131 | 7.3 | 1 | 75 | |
| Wk 8 | W 38-20@ Bowling Green | 21 | 130 | 6.2 | 3 | 40 | 3 rushing TDs |
| Wk 9 | L 20-43@ Buffalo | 14 | 64 | 4.6 | 1 | 13 | |
| Wk 10 | W 48-10vs Northern Illinois | 20 | 138 | 6.9 | 1 | 29 | |
| Wk 12 | W 45-44@ Ball State | 24 | 105 | 4.4 | 4 | 17 | 4 rushing TDs |
| Wk 14 | W 49-7vs Toledo | 13 | 88 | 6.8 | 1 | 17 | |
| Wk 15 | L 21-26vs Miami (OH) | 10 | 26 | 2.6 | 0 | 7 | |
 Bowl | L 11-48@ San Diego State | 9 | 26 | 2.9 | 0 | 6 | |
| Total | 183 | 1108 | 6.1 | 15 | 86 |
Week 12 · 2019
W 45-44
at Ball State
105 rush yds (24 car) · 4 TD · 4 rec · 30 yds
Edged out Ball State on the road in a shootout.
With Q. Dormady — 356 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · K. Lewis — 34 rush yds (9 car) · 1 rec · -2 yds
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
55%153 carriesFumble rate
2.2%4 of 183 carries · 4 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds6.1 yds/carry on 183 carries · 13% explosive (10+ yds) · 55% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2019 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 129 | 7.8 | 1.4 |
| Road5g | 81.8 | 4.8 | 1.6 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 92.8 | 6.2 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 91.8 | 5.2 | 1.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jim McElwain
Pass share
47.8%
472 pass / 516 run
Plays / game
70.6
14 games
Team sack rate
4.1%
507 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2019
183 carries and 34 catches in 12 games, more touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Central Michigan, 2,537 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
His career
He has a stat line in 42 games over 4 seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2016–2019
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: John Bonamego → Jim McElwain. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
