Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
2/22Inside-5 share
2 of the team's 22 inside-the-5 carries (9.1%).
- touchdown
Iowa State · W 31-17
No carries.
Kansas · W 41-24
No carries.
Colorado · W 27-24
No carries.
Houston · W 21-13
No carries.
Chavez-Soto has carries in 4 of Utah’s 8 games: none in the other 4.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
This week
- RecordUtah is 8-0, No. 3 in the AP poll (week 10).
- Next gamevs BYU · Sat Nov 7
Steve Chavez-Soto
Played for two head coaches at two programs in two seasons: Ken Niumatalolo and Morgan Scalley. The first career honor came in 2025: Mountain West Freshman Player of the Week. A game that shows it: 35 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD against Idaho — Week 1, 2026.
65 rushing yards · 1 rushing TD · 14 carries
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Does a little of everything without one standout trait.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
What fans said
Fans first named Steve Chavez-Soto vs Idaho.
- A fan first, numbered by kind (1 first named)
vs Arkansas, Sep 12Chavez-Soto just pinballing aroundUtah fan, r/CFB game thread
vs Idaho, Sep 3This Chavez-Soto kid looks pretty good, runs downhill.Utah fan, r/CFB game thread
In the game threads
vs Kansas, Oct 10I really like the look of Chavez-Soto too.Utah fan, r/CFB game threadWhere to follow
The latest game
Against Cincinnati on Oct. 31: 2 carries for 2 yards. In the 4 games drawn here: 14 carries for 65 yards.
First quarterSecond quarterThird quarterFourth quarter
- W 49-25 at Cincinnati2 carries, 2 yds
- W 33-0 vs Utah State3 carries, 10 yds
- W 43-10 vs Arkansas3 carries, 18 yds
- W 66-14 vs Idaho6 carries, 35 yds, 1 TD
a carry, by its yardsa loss, below the linea catcha touchdown
Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Utah | 14 | 65 | 4.6 | 1 | 15 |
| 2025 | San José State | 87 | 448 | 5.1 | 7 | 66 |
| Career | 101 | 513 | 5.1 | 8 | 66 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Utah | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 7 |
| 2025 | San José State | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 17 |
| Career | 5 | 20 | 4.0 | 0 | 17 |
Last game (Wk 9): 2 rushing yards.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 4 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 66-14vs Idaho | 6 | 35 | 5.8 | 1 | 15 | Season-high 35 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 43-10vs Arkansas | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 3 | W 33-0vs Utah State | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 9 | W 49-25@ Cincinnati | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Total | 14 | 65 | 4.6 | 1 | 15 |
Signature game
Week 1 · 2026
W 66-14
vs Idaho
35 rush yds (6 car) · 1 TD
Dominant 52-point win at home against Idaho.
With D. Dampier — 176 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 93.5 · 31 rush yds (6 car) · B. Ficklin — 93 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 80.1 · 70 rush yds (8 car)
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 9 · Cincinnati · 4th and 1 · Q3 · EPA −4.29S.Chavez-Soto rush right for 0 yards (J.Beeler; S.Coleman), TURNOVER ON DOWNS
- Week 1 · Idaho · 2nd and 3 · Q4 · EPA +2.23S.Chavez-Soto rush middle for 5 yards gain for a touchdown
- Week 2 · Arkansas · 3rd and 2 · Q4 · EPA +1.92S.Chavez-Soto rush left for 10 yards gain to the Ark46 (A.Sandel Bascomb; J.Johnson)
- Week 9 · Cincinnati · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −0.69S.Chavez-Soto rush middle for 2 yards gain (M.Parker)
- Week 1 · Idaho · 2nd and 4 · Q3 · EPA +0.66S.Chavez-Soto rush middle for 15 yards gain (H.Dalton)
- Week 3 · Utah State · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA −0.66S.Chavez-Soto rush left for 2 yards gain (B.Hamblin; J.Shepard)
4 more plays
- Week 9 · Cincinnati · 3rd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +0.44Dampier to Chavez-Soto: a 7-yard pass.
- Week 3 · Utah State · 2nd and 8 · Q4 · EPA −0.41S.Chavez-Soto rush middle for 3 yards gain (A.Cunningham)
- Week 1 · Idaho · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +0.34S.Chavez-Soto rush left for 6 yards gain (N.Speer), out of bounds
- Week 9 · Cincinnati · 2nd and 7 · Q3 · EPA −0.32Dampier to Chavez-Soto: a 2-yard pass.
Where he ranks
Opponents faced, by strength
Ratings of the games shown run from -9 to +7 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Teams and coaches
2025San José State3-9HC: Ken Niumatalolo · Pass-leaning
2026Utah8-0HC: Morgan Scalley · Run-leaning
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 21.0 | 5.0 | 0.3 |
| Road1g | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 21.0 | 5.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Morgan Scalley
Pass share
45.0%
247 pass / 302 run
Plays / game
68.6
8 games
Team sack rate
3.7%
272 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
14 carries and 2 catches in 4 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Starter
The No. 2,427 recruit in the country is carrying the ball in the Big 12.
Two seasons, two schools
2026 is in progress.
- 2026 Utah ScalleyYear 2 · 4 games
- Jan 2026 Entered the transfer portalSan José State to Utah
- 2025 San José State NiumataloloYear 1 · 8 games
Moves
- Transferred from San José State to Utah, Jan 13, 2026.
Honored in a first season.
2025 8 games
- Signed with San José StateThree-star, out of Orange Lutheran
2026 4 games
- Transferred to Utahfrom San José State
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coaches2025
San José State
Played for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Ken Niumatalolo and Morgan Scalley.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Utah
2025San José State
2026Utah