Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
9/15Inside-5 share
9 of the team's 15 inside-the-5 carries (60.0%).
Xavier Johnson
Last confirmed: South Alabama, 2017. No 2026 box-score games on record.
5′11″ · 190 lb · Tampa, FL · Chamberlain
Xavier Johnson: RB · South Alabama · #28.
Players he’s like
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Xavier Johnson
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. He arrived as a 2-star recruit and has four seasons of production at South Alabama behind him. One game to point at: 155 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD against Idaho — Week 4, 2017.
How he plays
How he plays
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
News and fans
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Where to follow him
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | South Alabama | 82 | 445 | 5.4 | 6 |
| 2016 | South Alabama | 151 | 831 | 5.5 | 10 |
| 2015 | South Alabama | 145 | 956 | 6.6 | 7 |
| 2014 | South Alabama | 81 | 438 | 5.4 | 1 |
| Career | 459 | 2,670 | 5.8 | 24 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | South Alabama | 5 | 23 | 4.6 | 0 |
| 2016 | South Alabama | 13 | 86 | 6.6 | 0 |
| 2015 | South Alabama | 9 | 82 | 9.1 | 1 |
| 2014 | South Alabama | 4 | 13 | 3.2 | 0 |
| Career | 31 | 204 | 6.6 | 1 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 27-47@ Ole Miss | 11 | 33 | 3.0 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 2 | L 7-44vs No. 11 Oklahoma State | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 0 | 19 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-0vs Alabama A&M | 9 | 32 | 3.6 | 2 | 7 | |
| Wk 4 | L 23-29vs Idaho | 20 | 155 | 7.8 | 2 | 34 | Season-high 155 yds |
| Wk 5 | L 16-34@ Louisiana Tech | 12 | 89 | 7.4 | 0 | 47 | |
| Wk 7 | W 19-8@ Troy | 7 | 4 | 0.6 | 1 | 2 | |
| Wk 8 | W 33-23vs UL Monroe | 11 | 99 | 9.0 | 1 | 33 | |
| Wk 9 | L 13-21@ Georgia State | 7 | -3 | -0.4 | 0 | 3 | |
| Total | 82 | 445 | 5.4 | 6 | 47 |
Signature game
Week 4 · 2017
L 23-29
vs Idaho
155 rush yds (20 car) · 2 TD
With C. Waitman — 46.3 yards per punt · 6 punts · 54 long · D. Davis — 106 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · QBR 9.8
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 4 · Idaho · 3rd and 4 · Q4 · EPA +3.77Xavier Johnson run for 34 yds for a TD, (Gavin Patterson KICK)
- Week 8 · UL Monroe · 3rd and 4 · Q1 · EPA +3.60Xavier Johnson run for 33 yds to the LaMon 36 for a
- Week 5 · Louisiana Tech · 2nd and 2 · Q1 · EPA +3.08Xavier Johnson run for 47 yds to the LaTch 29 for a
- Week 3 · Alabama A&M · 3rd and 3 · Q3 · EPA +2.66Xavier Johnson run for 6 yds for a TD, (Gavin Patterson KICK)
- Week 8 · UL Monroe · 2nd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +2.61Xavier Johnson run for 25 yds to the SAlab 48 for a
- Week 5 · Louisiana Tech · 4th and 2 · Q2 · EPA +2.45Cole Garvin pass complete to Xavier Johnson for 5 yds to the LaTch 42 for a
4 more plays
- Week 2 · Oklahoma State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −2.24Xavier Johnson run for 3 yds to the SAlab 43 Xavier Johnson fumbled, forced by Jarrell Owens, recovered by OKSt DeQuinton Osborne
- Week 7 · Troy · 2nd and 1 · Q1 · EPA +1.90Xavier Johnson 1 Yd Run
- Week 4 · Idaho · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −1.87Xavier Johnson run for a loss of 4 yards to the SAlab 38
- Week 8 · UL Monroe · 1st and 4 · Q1 · EPA +1.69Xavier Johnson 4 Yd Run
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
82 of 82 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
49%82 carriesFumble rate
1.2%1 of 82 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer yds27%of carries
22 carries
Grind
1–3 yds27%of carries
22 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds33%of carries
27 carries
Explosive
10+ yds13%of carries
11 carries
3 of 4 (75%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 4 of 9 (44%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
5.4 yds/carry on 82 carries · 13% explosive (10+ yds) · 49% success rate.
Teams and coaches
4 seasons under Joey Jones — 21-29 over that span.
2014South Alabama6-7HC: Joey Jones · Run-leaning
2015South Alabama5-7HC: Joey Jones · Run-leaning
2016South Alabama6-7HC: Joey Jones · Balanced
2017South Alabama4-8HC: Joey Jones · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 96.7 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
| Road4g | 30.8 | 2.6 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 58.2 | 4.9 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 48.0 | 4.3 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Joey Jones
Pass share
52.8%
408 pass / 364 run
Plays / game
64.3
12 games
Team sack rate
5.6%
443 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2017
82 carries and 5 catches in 8 games
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Five seasons at South Alabama
- 2017 South Alabama JonesYear 5 · 8 games
- 2016 South Alabama JonesYear 4 · 12 games
- 2015 South Alabama JonesYear 3 · 12 games
- 2014 South Alabama JonesYear 2 · 12 games
- 2013 South Alabama JonesYear 1 · on the roster, no stat line
- Before collegeSigned with South Alabama in 2013 as a 2-star recruit, No. 2,277 in the country.
His moves
- Signed with South Alabama in the 2013 class, a 2-star recruit.
How it ended
Four seasons at South Alabama, 2,670 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
His career
He has a stat line in 44 games over 4 seasons.
2013
- Signed with South Alabama2-star out of Chamberlain
Coaching lineage · 2013–2017
1 coach2013–2017
South Alabama
Played his entire career under Joey Jones.