Last confirmed: California, 2018. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′0″ · 205 lb · San Luis Obispo, CA
Patrick Laird: RB · California · #28.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Patrick Laird
Wins in space out of the backfield. Patrick Laird has played for two head coaches in four seasons at California. A game that shows it: 193 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards against Oregon State — Week 8, 2018.
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
50.0% of carries overall (220/440) → 43.5% of Q4-with-lead carries (30/69) — 86.7% 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
14 of 20 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (70.0%). 9 of the team's 17 inside-the-5 carries (52.9%).
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Sports Illustrated Oct 9
The Washington Post Oct 7Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | California | 222 | 948 | 4.3 | 5 |
| 2017 | California | 191 | 1,127 | 5.9 | 8 |
| 2016 | California | 8 | 59 | 7.4 | 1 |
| 2014 | California | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 0 |
| Career | 424 | 2,140 | 5.0 | 14 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | California | 50 | 285 | 5.7 | 4 |
| 2017 | California | 45 | 322 | 7.2 | 1 |
| 2016 | California | 3 | −2 | −0.7 | 0 |
| 2014 | California | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 98 | 605 | 6.2 | 5 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-17vs North Carolina | 29 | 95 | 3.3 | 1 | 19 | |
| Wk 2 | W 21-18@ BYU | 10 | 30 | 3.0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-23vs Idaho State | 11 | 22 | 2.0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-42vs No. 19 Oregon | 18 | 92 | 5.1 | 1 | 19 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-24@ Arizona | 14 | 54 | 3.9 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 7 | L 7-37vs UCLA | 15 | 78 | 5.2 | 1 | 14 | |
| Wk 8 | W 49-7@ Oregon State | 22 | 193 | 8.8 | 2 | 53 | Season-high 193 yds |
| Wk 9 | W 12-10vs No. 15 Washington | 22 | 83 | 3.8 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 10 | L 13-19@ No. 10 Washington State | 18 | 40 | 2.2 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 11 | W 15-14@ USC | 19 | 71 | 3.7 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 13 | W 33-21vs Colorado | 18 | 45 | 2.5 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 14 | L 13-23vs Stanford | 19 | 116 | 6.1 | 0 | 62 | |
 Bowl | L 7-10@ TCU | 7 | 29 | 4.1 | 0 | 7 | |
| Total | 222 | 948 | 4.3 | 5 | 62 |
Week 8 · 2018
W 49-7
at Oregon State
193 rush yds (22 car) · 2 TD · 3 rec · 48 yds · 1 TD
Dominant 42-point win on the road against Oregon State.
With C. Garbers — 234 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 54 rush yds (8 car) · S. Coutts — 38.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
38%215 carriesFumble rate
0.9%2 of 222 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds4.3 yds/carry on 222 carries · 9% explosive (10+ yds) · 38% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 75.9 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
| Road5g | 77.6 | 4.3 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 57.1 | 3.8 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 91.3 | 4.5 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Justin Wilcox
Pass share
46.4%
412 pass / 475 run
Plays / game
68.2
13 games
Team sack rate
7.1%
453 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2018
222 carries, 50 catches and 2 pass attempts in 13 games, more touches a game than nearly every FBS running back who plays every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at California, 2,140 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2014–2018
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Sonny Dykes → Justin Wilcox. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
