Two North Carolina collegiate running backs have crossed the magical 1,000-yard rushing plateau heading into Week 10.
Catawba’s LJ Turner leads the all-North Carolina stat sheet in rushing yards for the season, tallying 1,224 yards through eight games. North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton now sits at 1,006 yards, also after eight games.
Both Turner and Hampton hit the 100-yard mark over the weekend to add to their impressive 2024 resumes. Turner carried 25 times for 156 yards and a touchdown against Wingate, while Hampton went for 105 yards and two scores in a Tar Heel rout at Virginia.
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Turner broke Catawba’s 16-year-old single season rushing record and has three two more games to build on it, starting Saturday at Barton. Turner has rushed for more than 150 yards in his last three outings and has hit 100 for four consecutive contests. Jamelle Cuthbertson had held the single-season rushing record since 2008.
Hampton becomes a 1,000-yard back for the second consecutive season. He’s the ninth North Carolina back to enjoy multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Hampton has eclipsed 100 yards in seven of eight contests this fall and 16 during his UNC career.
Who else will join the dynamic duo in the 1,000-yard club this season?
Davidson’s Mari Adams is just 13 yards away. North Carolina Wesleyan’s Anthony Byrd sits at 939 after a 218-yard performance on Saturday at Southern Virginia.
North Carolina Central’s J’Mari Taylor moved into fifth on the statewide rushing leaders list with 196 yards on Saturday against Morgan State. Taylor has 790 yards for the season with three MEAC games remaining.
Other FBS players with eyes on 1,000 include Wake Forest’s Demond Claiborne (711) and Duke’s Star Thomas (681).
Adams and Turner lead the state with 13 rushing touchdowns. Taylor has scored 10 times, while Hampton and Davidson’s Mason Sheron have found the end zone nine times.
Four players are averaging more than 100 yards a game after nine weeks — Byrd (156.5), Turner (153.0), Hampton (125.8) and Adams (123.4).
Among players with more than 400 yards on the season, Adams averages the most yards per carry, 7.4. Turner and Byrd average 7.0 yards per tote.
Elon freshman TJ Thomas Jr. has 588 yards on the season and picks up 6.6 per attempt on average. Brevard’s Chancellor Lee-Parker has 515 yards on the season and picks up 6.2 yards per attempt.
Rushing Leaders | Total Yards 400+
| RUSHING LEADERS | YDS/ | YDS/ | |||||||
| PLAYER (SCHOOL) | DIV | CLASS | POSITION | GAMES | ATT | TD | TOTAL | PER GAME | PER ATT. |
| LJ Turner (Catawba) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 8 | 174 | 13 | 1224 | 153.0 | 7.0 |
| Omarion Hampton (North Carolina) | FBS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 181 | 9 | 1006 | 125.8 | 5.6 |
| Mari Adams (Davidson) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 133 | 13 | 987 | 123.4 | 7.4 |
| Anthony Byrd (NC Wesleyan) | D3 | Sr. | RB | 6 | 135 | 6 | 939 | 156.5 | 7.0 |
| J’Mari Taylor (North Carolina Central) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 142 | 10 | 790 | 98.8 | 5.6 |
| Travon Tensley (Shaw) | D2 | So. | RB | 9 | 149 | 4 | 774 | 86.0 | 5.2 |
| Trevon Hester (Winston-Salem State) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 9 | 145 | 5 | 741 | 82.3 | 5.1 |
| Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest) | FBS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 146 | 8 | 711 | 88.9 | 4.9 |
| Star Thomas (Duke) | FBS | Sr. | RB | 8 | 151 | 5 | 681 | 85.1 | 4.5 |
| Mason Sheron (Davidson) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 109 | 9 | 634 | 79.3 | 5.8 |
| Mohamed Nyanamukenga (Livingstone) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 8 | 144 | 3 | 621 | 77.6 | 4.3 |
| TJ Thomas Jr. (Elon) | FCS | Fr. | RB | 8 | 89 | 5 | 588 | 73.5 | 6.6 |
| Rahjai Harris (East Carolina) | FBS | Sr. | RB | 8 | 120 | 4 | 561 | 70.1 | 4.7 |
| Branson Adams (Western Carolina) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 95 | 4 | 534 | 66.8 | 5.6 |
| Chancellor Lee-Parker (Brevard) | D3 | Sr. | RB | 6 | 83 | 8 | 515 | 85.8 | 6.2 |
| Edward Saydee (Gardner-Webb) | FCS | Sr. | RB | 8 | 101 | 3 | 485 | 60.6 | 4.8 |
| Malik Woodard (Guilford) | D3 | So. | RB | 7 | 104 | 3 | 418 | 59.7 | 4.0 |
| O’Brien Barnett (Wingate) | D2 | Sr. | RB | 7 | 68 | 4 | 414 | 59.1 | 6.1 |
Rushing Touchdowns
| RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | |||||
| PLAYER (SCHOOL) | DIV | CLASS | POSITION | GAMES | TD |
| LJ Turner (Catawba) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 8 | 13 |
| Mari Adams (Davidson) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 13 |
| J’Mari Taylor (North Carolina Central) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 10 |
| Mason Sheron (Davidson) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 9 |
| Omarion Hampton (North Carolina) | FBS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 9 |
| Chancellor Lee-Parker (Brevard) | D3 | Sr. | RB | 6 | 8 |
| JR Martin (Mars Hill) | D2 | Sr. | QB | 6 | 8 |
| Alex Boyd (Lenoir-Rhyne) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 7 | 8 |
| Quavaris Crouch (Johnson C. Smith) | D2 | Sr. | RB | 7 | 8 |
| Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest) | FBS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 8 |
| Anthony Byrd (NC Wesleyan) | D3 | Sr. | RB | 6 | 6 |
| Hahsaun Wilson (Charlotte) | FBS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 6 |
| Star Thomas (Duke) | FBS | Sr. | RB | 8 | 5 |
| TJ Thomas Jr. (Elon) | FCS | Fr. | RB | 8 | 5 |
| Trevon Hester (Winston-Salem State) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 9 | 5 |
Rushing Yards/Game 50+
| RUSHING LEADERS | YDS/ | YDS/ | |||||||
| PLAYER (SCHOOL) | DIV | CLASS | POSITION | GAMES | ATT | TD | TOTAL | PER GAME | PER ATT. |
| Anthony Byrd (NC Wesleyan) | D3 | Sr. | RB | 6 | 135 | 6 | 939 | 156.5 | 7.0 |
| LJ Turner (Catawba) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 8 | 174 | 13 | 1224 | 153.0 | 7.0 |
| Omarion Hampton (North Carolina) | FBS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 181 | 9 | 1006 | 125.8 | 5.6 |
| Mari Adams (Davidson) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 133 | 13 | 987 | 123.4 | 7.4 |
| Zayvion Turner-Knox (Lenoir-Rhyne) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 3 | 72 | 4 | 356 | 118.7 | 4.9 |
| J’Mari Taylor (North Carolina Central) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 142 | 10 | 790 | 98.8 | 5.6 |
| Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest) | FBS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 146 | 8 | 711 | 88.9 | 4.9 |
| Travon Tensley (Shaw) | D2 | So. | RB | 9 | 149 | 4 | 774 | 86.0 | 5.2 |
| Chancellor Lee-Parker (Brevard) | D3 | Sr. | RB | 6 | 83 | 8 | 515 | 85.8 | 6.2 |
| Star Thomas (Duke) | FBS | Sr. | RB | 8 | 151 | 5 | 681 | 85.1 | 4.5 |
| Trevon Hester (Winston-Salem State) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 9 | 145 | 5 | 741 | 82.3 | 5.1 |
| Mason Sheron (Davidson) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 109 | 9 | 634 | 79.3 | 5.8 |
| Mohamed Nyanamukenga (Livingstone) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 8 | 144 | 3 | 621 | 77.6 | 4.3 |
| TJ Thomas Jr. (Elon) | FCS | Fr. | RB | 8 | 89 | 5 | 588 | 73.5 | 6.6 |
| Rahjai Harris (East Carolina) | FBS | Sr. | RB | 8 | 120 | 4 | 561 | 70.1 | 4.7 |
| Branson Adams (Western Carolina) | FCS | Jr. | RB | 8 | 95 | 4 | 534 | 66.8 | 5.6 |
| Edward Saydee (Gardner-Webb) | FCS | Sr. | RB | 8 | 101 | 3 | 485 | 60.6 | 4.8 |
| Malik Woodard (Guilford) | D3 | So. | RB | 7 | 104 | 3 | 418 | 59.7 | 4.0 |
| Kamarro Edmonds (Johnson C. Smith) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 6 | 64 | 3 | 357 | 59.5 | 5.6 |
| O’Brien Barnett (Wingate) | D2 | Sr. | RB | 7 | 68 | 4 | 414 | 59.1 | 6.1 |
| Alex Boyd (Lenoir-Rhyne) | D2 | Jr. | RB | 7 | 95 | 8 | 383 | 54.7 | 4.0 |
| Quavaris Crouch (Johnson C. Smith) | D2 | Sr. | RB | 7 | 92 | 8 | 366 | 52.3 | 4.0 |
