CBS Sports College FootballShort-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
3/16Inside-5 share
3 of the team's 16 inside-the-5 carries (18.8%).
TJ Lester
5′9″ · 205 lb · Milton, GA
- touchdown
This week
- RecordMarshall is 4-3.
- Next gameat Old Dominion · Sat Oct 31
His biggest play this season
12% of the carries, 12% of the yards, 20% of the touchdowns
- Carries12%28 of 240
- Yards12%133 of 1,111
- Touchdowns20%2 of 10
Who carried it
- Judah Price237 yards, 41 carries, 2 touchdowns
- Khalil Wilkins235 yards, 32 carries
- Joshon Barbie230 yards, 49 carries, 2 touchdowns
- Carlos Del Rio-Wilson218 yards, 64 carries, 2 touchdowns
- TJ Lester133 yards, 28 carries, 2 touchdowns
- 3 others62 yards
His share of the team's total this season.
TJ Lester
A game that shows it: 43 rushing yards against Gardner-Webb — Week 4, 2026.
133 rushing yards · 2 rushing TD · 28 carries
How he plays
How he plays
News and fans
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Marshall in the news
Where to follow him
How he played
Against South Alabama on Oct. 20: 2 carries for 4 yards. In the 7 games drawn here: 28 carries for 133 yards.
First quarterSecond quarterThird quarterFourth quarter
- W 20-13 vs South Alabama2 carries, 4 yds
- L 21-27 vs Coastal Carolina4 carries, 22 yds
- L 17-45 at James Madison5 carries, 25 yds, 1 TD
- W 36-35 vs Gardner-Webb7 carries, 43 yds
- W 30-24 at Missouri State4 carries, 27 yds
- W 28-26 vs Middle Tennessee4 carries, 6 yds, 1 TD
- L 0-45 at Penn State2 carries, 6 yds
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 | Marshall | 28 | 133 | 4.8 | 2 |
| Career | 28 | 133 | 4.8 | 2 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Marshall | 5 | 82 | 16.4 | 1 |
| Career | 5 | 82 | 16.4 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 8): 4 rushing yards.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-45@ No. 18 Penn State | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-26vs Middle Tennessee | 4 | 6 | 1.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Wk 3 | W 30-24@ Missouri State | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 4 | W 36-35vs Gardner-Webb | 7 | 43 | 6.1 | 0 | 10 | Season-high 43 yds |
| Wk 5 | L 17-45@ James Madison | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 6 | L 21-27vs Coastal Carolina | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 8 | W 20-13vs South Alabama | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Total | 28 | 133 | 4.8 | 2 | 18 |
Signature game
Week 5 · 2026
L 17-45
25 rush yds (5 car) · 1 TD · 2 rec · 18 yds
With C. Heimbach — 46 yards per punt · 5 punts · 1 inside the 20 · C. Del Rio-Wilson — 221 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 38.6 · 15 rush yds (7 car)
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 3 · Missouri State · 4th and 2 · Q1 · EPA +5.00C.Del Rio-Wilson pass complete short right to T.Lester for 39 yards for a touchdown
- Week 4 · Gardner-Webb · 4th and 1 · Q4 · EPA +2.61T.Lester rush middle for 10 yards gain (C.Haynes)
- Week 3 · Missouri State · 2nd and 9 · Q4 · EPA +2.12C.Del Rio-Wilson pass complete short right to T.Lester for 13 yards (J.Kpassou)
- Week 5 · James Madison · 2nd and 1 · Q2 · EPA +1.90T.Lester rush middle for 1 yard gain for a touchdown
- Week 3 · Missouri State · 2nd and 4 · Q1 · EPA +1.41T.Lester rush middle for 5 yards gain (C.Ford)
- Week 6 · Coastal Carolina · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA −1.23T.Lester rush middle for 2 yards loss (X.Booker; D.Grayson)
4 more plays
- Week 2 · Middle Tennessee · 1st and 2 · Q4 · EPA +1.21T.Lester rush middle for 2 yards gain to the MT 00 TOUCHDOWN
- Week 5 · James Madison · 3rd and 5 · Q1 · EPA +1.15C.Del Rio-Wilson pass complete short right to T.Lester for 6 yards, End Of Play
- Week 3 · Missouri State · 2nd and 5 · Q4 · EPA +1.15T.Lester rush middle for 17 yards gain (J.O'Neal; S.Shufelt)
- Week 5 · James Madison · 2nd and 6 · Q4 · EPA +1.04T.Lester rush middle for 7 yards gain (M.Purham)
Where he ranks
Who he played, by opponent strength
Ratings of the games shown run from -17 to +12 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Teams and coaches
2026Marshall4-3HC: Tony Gibson · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 18.8 | 3.8 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 19.3 | 4.9 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 21.5 | 4.6 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tony Gibson
Pass share
49.7%
237 pass / 240 run
Plays / game
68.1
7 games
Team sack rate
4.9%
266 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
28 carries and 5 catches in 7 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
47 · #143 of 315 RBs · through 7 games
Three-star recruit. Now #143 at the position.
Starter
The No. 2,468 recruit in the country is carrying the ball in the Sun Belt as a freshman.
First season at Marshall, 7 games
- 2026 Marshall GibsonYear 1 · 7 games
- Before collegeSigned with West Georgia in 2025 as a 3-star recruit, No. 2,468 in the country.
His moves
- Signed with West Georgia in the 2025 class, a 3-star recruit.
His career
2025
- Signed with West Georgia3-star out of Milton