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Gophers have a clear case for giving TJ Thomas more opportunities
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- Gophers have a clear case for giving TJ Thomas more opportunities
When Darius Taylor announced his return to the Gophers for a fourth season, the running back room around him completely changed. It was a wide-open competition for the No. 2 role, one that Elon transfer TJ Thomas has grabbed by the horns. In fact, Thomas has been Minnesota's most effective and efficient runner through five weeks.
Taylor showed the dynamic potential that we've grown accustomed to seeing in Week 1 with 17 offensive touches for 87 total yards and three touchdowns against Eastern Illinois. He suffered an injury the following week against Mississippi State, missed the Akron game in Week 3, and has struggled to regain his top form. He has 37 carries for just 68 yards over the last two weeks, which comes out to 1.8 yards per carry.
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Thomas has taken his game to another level since Taylor's injury. He broke out with 13 carries for 122 yards and one touchdown against Akron, and he has begun Big Ten play with 23 carries for 134 rushing yards, which comes out to 5.8 yards per carry.
Thomas leads the team with seven carries of 10 or more yards this season, compared to just two from Taylor, despite being outpaced in carries, 57 to 46. Thomas' most impressive number might be his 19 missed tackles forced, which leads the team by a wide margin.
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Thomas: 19 (13 rushing, 6 receiving)
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Javon Tracy: 12
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Taylor: 11 (8 rushing, 3 receiving)
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Noah Jennings: 7
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Xavier Ford: 5
From a pure rushing standpoint, Thomas has outperformed Taylor in nearly every metric.
Receiving difference
Taylor has been a more effective receiver than Thomas. His 11 catches for 104 yards rank fourth on the team, and he leads the Gophers with an 86.5 receiving grade, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). His 7.6 yards after catch per reception also leads all players on the team with at least 20 routes run.
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Thomas isn't too far behind with 13 receptions for 78 yards, but Taylor's experience as a receiver to begin his high school career continues to show up on film at the college level. He's able to add a dangerous wrinkle to Minnesota's passing attack. Notably, Taylor has only run 34 routes, compared to 73 for Thomas.
Touchdowns
Touchdowns are a hard stat to quantify, but Taylor currently leads Minnesota with five total touchdowns this season, which is also the 11th-most in the Big Ten. Thomas has found the end zone once all season. Taylor has also received far more opportunities in the red zone, but his ability to find the end zone should not go unnoticed.
Pass blocking
The least pretty part of playing the running back position is pass blocking. Taylor has 18 pass-blocking snaps this season, compared to just 12 for Thomas, but Thomas has a 43.9 PFF grade, compared to Taylor's 37.4 in that area. Both players have been charged with allowing one QB pressure.
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What's next?
Taylor has received 44 offensive touches and has recorded 77 offensive snaps over the last two weeks. Thomas has 27 offensive touches and just 46 offensive snaps in the same time frame. We're five games into the season, and given Taylor's injury history, there's no reason why the backfield shouldn't be at least a 50/50 split with those numbers going forward.
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
