Last confirmed: Northwestern, 2017. No 2026 box-score games on record.
5′11″ · 200 lb · Carol Stream, IL · Glenbard North
Justin Jackson: RB · Northwestern · #21.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Justin Jackson
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Fourth year in the Northwestern backfield. A game that shows it: 171 rushing yards and 3 receiving yards against Maryland — Week 7, 2017.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 15.8% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 15.3% of his carries. 7 carries for 18 yds vs Duke; 28 for 171 vs Maryland.
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
57.4% of carries overall (299/521) → 35.7% of Q4-with-lead carries (30/84) — 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
17 of 25 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (68.0%). 21 of the team's 38 inside-the-5 carries (55.3%).
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Northwestern | 287 | 1,311 | 4.6 | 11 |
| 2016 | Northwestern | 298 | 1,524 | 5.1 | 15 |
| 2015 | Northwestern | 312 | 1,418 | 4.5 | 5 |
| 2014 | Northwestern | 245 | 1,187 | 4.8 | 10 |
| Career | 1,142 | 5,440 | 4.8 | 41 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Northwestern | 44 | 276 | 6.3 | 0 |
| 2016 | Northwestern | 35 | 219 | 6.3 | 0 |
| 2015 | Northwestern | 21 | 162 | 7.7 | 0 |
| 2014 | Northwestern | 22 | 201 | 9.1 | 1 |
| Career | 122 | 858 | 7.0 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-20vs Nevada | 30 | 109 | 3.6 | 0 | 13 | 157-yard day |
| Wk 2 | L 17-41@ Duke | 7 | 18 | 2.6 | 1 | 8 | |
| Wk 3 | W 49-7vs Bowling Green | 18 | 121 | 6.7 | 3 | 42 | 3 rushing TDs |
| Wk 5 | L 24-33@ No. 10 Wisconsin | 9 | 25 | 2.8 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 6 | L 7-31vs No. 4 Penn State | 16 | 66 | 4.1 | 0 | 28 | |
| Wk 7 | W 37-21@ Maryland | 28 | 171 | 6.1 | 2 | 25 | Season-high 171 yds |
| Wk 8 | W 17-10vs Iowa | 25 | 93 | 3.7 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 9 | W 39-31vs No. 16 Michigan State | 17 | 41 | 2.4 | 1 | 6 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-24@ Nebraska | 31 | 154 | 5.0 | 1 | 20 | 154-yard day |
| Wk 11 | W 23-13vs Purdue | 25 | 46 | 1.8 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 12 | W 39-0vs Minnesota | 31 | 166 | 5.4 | 0 | 41 | 166-yard day |
| Wk 13 | W 42-7@ Illinois | 18 | 144 | 8.0 | 1 | 79 | |
 Bowl | W 24-23vs Kentucky | 32 | 157 | 4.9 | 2 | 18 | |
| Total | 287 | 1311 | 4.6 | 11 | 79 |
Bowl · 2017
W 24-23
vs Kentucky · neutral site
157 rush yds (32 car) · 2 TD · 1 rec · 10 yds
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 1 at a neutral site.
With J. Larkin — 112 rush yds (9 car) · 24 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 99.9 · H. Niswander — 45.8 yards per punt · 4 punts · 49 long
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
40%268 carriesFumble rate
0.3%1 of 287 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.6 yds/carry on 287 carries · 11% explosive (10+ yds) · 40% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
4 seasons under Pat Fitzgerald — 32-19 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 91.7 | 4.0 | 0.6 |
| Road5g | 102 | 4.9 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 95.3 | 4.4 | 1.1 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 107 | 4.4 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Pass share
46.6%
460 pass / 528 run
Plays / game
76.0
13 games
Team sack rate
6.7%
522 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2017
287 carries, 44 catches and 1 pass attempt in 13 games, more touches a game than nearly every FBS running back who plays every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Northwestern, 5,440 rushing yards — drafted at #251 overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.
His career
He has a stat line in 51 games over 4 seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2014–2017
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Pat Fitzgerald.
Where he ended up · NFL
Los Angeles ChargersEntering 9th NFL season
Los Angeles ChargersEntering 9th NFL season
