Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-7vs Eastern Illinois | 7 | 52 | 7.4 | 0 | 20 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-38vs Mississippi State | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-7vs Akron | 13 | 122 | 9.4 | 1 | 71 | Season-high 122 yds |
| Total | 23 | 173 | 5.5 | 1 | 71 |
#23
TJ Thomas Jr.
Junior running back for Minnesota. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
5′8″ · 190 lb · Thomasville, GA
The numbers
173
rushing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 122 rush yds, 1 TD, -8 rec yds, vs Akron
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior running back for Minnesota. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
The full story, with sourcesTJ Thomas Jr.
The receipt: 122 rush yds, 3 receptions against Akron — Week 3, 2026.
173 RUSH YDS · 1 RUSH TD · 23 CARRIES
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- game log
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Minnesota
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Minnesota | 23 | 173 | 7.5 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 23 | 173 | 7.5 | 1 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Minnesota | 9 | 55 | 6.1 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 9 | 55 | 6.1 | 0 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
TJ Thomas Jr.'s 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 59–7
52 rush yds (7 car)
Dominant 52-point win at home against Eastern Illinois.
With J. Tracy — 5 rec · 98 yds · D. Lindsey — 264 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 86.2 · 6 rush yds (2 car)
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 3 · Akron · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +5.78(09:47) Shotgun #23 T.Thomas rush left for 71 yards gain to the AKRON00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 09:38, 1ST DOWN. #21 C.White injured on the play #12 L.Drzewiecki kick attempt good (H: #42 T.Weston, LS: #52 A.Soukup)
- Week 1 · Eastern Illinois · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -4.41(09:10) #5 D.Lindsey pass complete short right to #23 T.Thomas caught at EIU22, for 18 yards to the EIU04 fumbled by #23 T.Thomas at EIU08 forced by #19 M.Tupou recovered by EIU #8 N.Vecchiarelli at EIU04, End Of Play
- Week 2 · Mississippi State · 2&9 · Q1 · EPA +1.97(08:32) #5 D.Lindsey pass complete short middle to #23 T.Thomas caught at MINN38, for 11 yards to the MSST47 (#3 K.Dolby; #13 L.James), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Akron · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +1.79(14:59) Shotgun #23 T.Thomas rush left for 20 yards gain to the AKRON46 (#11 D.Galloway Jr.), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Eastern Illinois · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +1.41(07:04) No Huddle #23 T.Thomas rush right for 20 yards gain to the EIU37 (#27 J.Brown), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Mississippi State · 2&3 · Q2 · EPA +1.29(03:51) Shotgun #5 D.Lindsey pass complete short middle to #23 T.Thomas caught at MINN37, for 14 yards to the MINN46 (#10 J.Smith), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Mississippi State · 3&2 · Q2 · EPA -1.15(01:58) Shotgun #23 T.Thomas rush left for 0 yards to the MSST46 (#5 J.Gilbert)
- Week 1 · Eastern Illinois · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA -0.97(08:54) No Huddle #23 T.Thomas rush left for 2 yards loss to the MINN25 (#5 J.Nickson)
- Week 2 · Mississippi State · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +0.97(07:05) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 D.Lindsey pass complete short left to #23 T.Thomas caught at MINN30, for 10 yards to the MINN44 (#11 T.Lockhart), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Mississippi State · 2&10 · Q1 · EPA -0.92(00:03) #23 T.Thomas rush left for 4 yards loss to the MINN32 (#43 W.Whitson)
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +122 rushing yards, +1 rushing TD, +3 catches.
Season context · Team result + system
2026Minnesota2-1HC: P.J. Fleck · Pass-leaning
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: yards / carry (93rd percentile). Strength: long run (89th percentile). Concern: carries (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (8)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 57.7 | 5.5 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 57.7 | 5.5 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
P.J. Fleck
Pass share
57.1%
112 pass / 84 run
Plays / game
65.3
3 games
Team sack rate
1.7%
119 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
The backfield · Minnesota
- #1Darius Taylor670 rushing yards · 2025
- #21Grant Washington132 rushing yards · 2025
- #2A.J. Turner64 rushing yards · 2025
- #9Xavier Ford35 rushing yards · 2025
- #23TJ Thomas Jr.3 games · 2026
4 more on the roster · Minnesota team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology