Three weeks into the 2026 North Carolina college football season, the numbers are starting to tell some interesting stories across our state.
Division II players lead many of our statistical categories so far, including rushing and receiving yards as well as tackles and sacks. Two FCS quarterbacks headline the passing categories.
Each week, NC Football News will take a closer look at the statewide statistical leaders from all 33 North Carolina college football programs, from the FBS through the FCS, Division II, Division III and JUCO ranks. Below you’ll find the top three in each major individual statistical category, along with a Quick Read that goes beyond the raw totals to highlight trends, unusual numbers and performances worth watching.
Want to go deeper? Our 2026 North Carolina College Football Stats Hub includes the complete statewide leaderboards in every category and will be updated throughout the season.
North Carolina College Football Stat Leaders 2026
Stats are through Week 2 games (Sept. 11-12). Sources include NCAA.com and individual school websites
🏈 Passing Yards
- Cole Pennington, Gardner-Webb — 876
- Mason Fortune, Catawba — 827
- Lex Thomas, Western Carolina — 811
Quick read: Our small-college quarterbacks lead the way in this category. Pennington owns the yardage lead, but Thomas has perhaps the eye-catching efficiency story among the three: five TD passes without an interception. Pennington has thrown 141 passes — 47 per game — while Fortune and Thomas also have five TD passes apiece.
🎯 Passing Touchdowns
- Lex Thomas, Western Carolina — 5
- Tyler Adkins, Chowan — 5
- Mason Fortune, Catawba — 5
Quick read: It’s a three-way tie at the top, with Thomas standing apart as the only one of the trio without an interception. Fortune has thrown four picks while Adkins has thrown two. Wake Forest’s Gio Lopez is among a large group one TD behind the leaders with four in only two games and no interceptions.
🏃 Rushing Yards
- Fabian Duncan, Johnson C. Smith — 453
- Nate Sheppard, Duke — 374
- Kamerin McDowell-Moore, Elon — 280
Quick read: Duncan, who joined the JCSU roster in the off-season, leads the state with 453 yards and five TDs, averaging 151.0 yards per game and 7.0 per carry. He’s currently fourth in all of D2 after three weeks. Sheppard has played one fewer game and is averaging a whopping 187.0 yards, while McDowell-Moore – a freshman from the Tarboro High School dynasty – leads all FCS runners with 280.
💨 Rushing Touchdowns
- Fabian Duncan, Johnson C. Smith — 5
- LJ Turner, Lenoir-Rhyne — 5
- Jimmyll Williams, Elon — 4
Quick read: Duncan and Turner share the statewide lead, with Turner scoring five times on just 37 carries. Williams has four TDs despite not appearing among the top 25 in rushing yardage. NC State quarterback Will Wilson also has four rushing scores through two games, continuing to be a short-yardage machine for the Pack.
🙌 Receiving Yards
- Amir Alexander, Chowan — 355
- Kory Jones, Gardner-Webb — 288
- Carlos Hernandez, Wake Forest — 253
Quick read: Alexander gives Division II Chowan the overall statewide leader in terms of pure yardage, but Hernandez is averaging an even better 126.5 through two games. App State’s Sam Pickett III is the big-play outlier farther down the list: five catches for 162 yards, two TDs and a staggering 32.4 yards per reception.
🏁 Receiving Touchdowns
- Tyler Davis, Barton — 3
- 14 players are tied with 2 touchdowns each
Quick read: Barton’s Davis stands alone atop the leaderboard with three TD catches among his 12 receptions. After that comes a massive tie at two that stretches across every level from FBS through Division III. Chowan’s Amir Alexander is the only player currently among the top three in both receiving yards and receiving TDs.
🛡️ Total Tackles
- Jaylen Hinton, Catawba — 31
- Tre Yanez, Gardner-Webb — 31
- Maurice Odom, Winston-Salem State — 26
Quick read: Hinton and Yanez share the overall lead at 31 tackles, or 10.3 per game. But NC State’s Popo Aguirre has the highest per-game average among the listed leaders at 10.5 through two games, while Wake Forest’s Vincent Firenze is right behind at 10.0.
💥 Tackles for Loss
- Xavier Lewis, North Carolina — 6.5
- Zarion Walters, North Carolina Central — 6.0
- Amir Jackson, Louisburg — 5.5
Quick read: Lewis has produced 6.5 TFL in only two games, including four sacks. But Louisburg freshman Amir Jackson may have the craziest line on the entire statewide leaderboard: 5.5 tackles for loss in one game, Louisburg’s season opener against Community Christian College from Georgia.
🔥 Sacks
- Osirus Rhodes, Fayetteville State — 4.0
- Xavier Lewis, North Carolina — 4.0
- Caleb Sandstrom, App State — 3.0
Quick read: Rhodes and Lewis share the lead, but Lewis has reached four sacks in only two games, giving him a state-best 2.0 per game. Sandstrom isn’t far behind with three in two games, while Lenoir-Rhyne’s Carnell Ferguson and North Carolina Central’s Zarion Walters also have three.
✋ Interceptions
- ZyKing Patillo, Fayetteville State — 3
- Joshua Truesdale, NC Central — 2
- Jamaris Stevens, Johnson C. Smith — 2
Quick read: Patillo is the clear leader with three interceptions in three games and has returned one for a TD. Stevens has generated the most return yardage of the trio, taking his two interceptions back 72 yards.
🦵 Punting
- Kade Reynoldson, Duke — 52.0 yards per punt
- Mitchell Lake, UNC Pembroke — 48.6
- Declan Sweeny, Brevard — 48.5
Quick read: Reynoldson has a substantial lead at 52.0 yards on seven punts – and ranks No. 4 nationally in FBS – but Lake’s 48.6 average has come over a much larger 13-punt sample. Sweeny’s 48.5 is based on only two punts in Brevard’s lone game. ECU’s Tomas O’Halloran is another volume standout, averaging 46.7 yards on 14 punts.
🥾 Kicker Points
- Riley Daniels, North Carolina Central — 27
- Connor Calvert, Wake Forest — 24
- James London, App State — 21
Quick read: Daniels owns the overall lead after going 6-for-6 on field goals through three games, but Calvert is scoring at the fastest rate of the three. He has 24 points in only two games, making six of seven field goals and all six PATs. London has added 21 points in two games for App State, including nine PATs.
