Graduate student with one year of athletic eligibility remaining … Four-year letterman who has appeared in 37 career games making 16 starts … Rushed for 1,930 yards on 489 carries (3.9 ypr) with 18 ground scores (4/2020, 4/’21, 5/’22, 5’23) … Rushing TD breakdown (2/USF ‘20, 1/Navy ‘20, 1/CIN ‘20, 1/MAR ‘21, 1/TLN ‘21, 1/USF ‘21, 1/MEM ’21, 1/NCSU ’22, 1/ODU ’22, 2/CAM ’22, 1/USF ’22, 2/ASU ’23, 1/GW ‘23, 1/Rice ’23, 1/TLS ’23) … Hauled down 46 passes for 307 yards with four additional touchdowns (4 yards/TLS ‘20, 3 yards/TLN ’21, 3 yards/ODU ’22, 11 yards/GW ’23) … In all, has tallied 2,237 all-purpose yards (60.5 ypg) … Has registered five career 100-plus yard rushing performances (19-115/South Florida ‘20, 22-172/Navy ‘20, 21-118/Tulsa ’20, 22-100/South Florida ’21, 21-145/Tulsa ’23) … Scored multiple touchdowns in a game five times (2/USF ’20, 2/ODU ’22, 2/CAM ’22, 2/ASU ’23, 2/GW ‘23) … Ninety-two of 489 runs have gone for seven or more yards … Racked up 70 or more yards on the ground in 10 of 37 career contests … Tallied 100-plus all-purpose yards in a game six times (3/’20, 2/’21, 1/’23) ... Targeted 62 times in his career making 46 grabs … Earned American Athletic Conference Rookie-of-the-Year and first-team all-league honors as a true freshman in 2020 … Named a First Team Preseason All-AAC selection by Phil Steele Magazine in 2024 ... Second Team All-AAC pick by Athlon Sports in 2024 ... Third-Team All-AAC honoree by College Football Network ... Named a NFF (National Football Foundation) University Scholar-Athlete.
2023: Named one of five team captains at ECU's annual end of the year banquet … Returned from season-ending injury from 2022 to appear in all 12 games making 11 starts … Led the team in rushing with 485 yards on 129 carries (3.8 ypr) … Scored a team-best five rushing touchdowns … Caught seven passes out of the backfield for 43 yards (6.1 ypc) with one score … In all, tallied 528 all-purpose yards … Ranked second on the team in scoring with 36 points … Registered for fifth career 100-plus game with 145 yards on 21 carries with a score against Tulsa (Nov. 25) … During three-game span (Sept. 16-30) scored five total touchdowns (4 rush, 1 rcv) … Had a pair against Appalachian State (2 rush), two against Gardner-Webb (1 rush, 1 rcv) and one against Rice (1 rush) … Twenty-two of 129 carries went for seven or more yards … Had a 41 and 50-yard run against Tulsa with the last going for a score … Tallied 50 or more grounds in a game four times (56/ASU, 64/GW, 52/TLN, 145/TLS) … Had seven games with double-digit carries ... Caught at least one pass in seven contests … Fully cleared to participate in fall camp on July 20, 2023 after suffering an injury against South Florida in 2022 … A 2023 Second-Team Preseason All-AAC pick by Athlon Sports (RB/AP) ... Named to the 2023 Doak Walker Award Watch List (nation's top running back) ... Named to the 2023 College Football Comeback Player-of-the-Year Award Watch List as selected by CSC (formerly CoSIDA), AP & Fiesta Bowl.
2022: Appeared in five games making one start before suffering season-ending injury against South Florida … Logged 192 total snaps with a season-high 50 against Navy … Ran for 238 yards on 67 carries (3.6 ypr) ranking third on the team in rushing yards … Ranked third on the team with five rushing touchdowns … Caught nine passes for 71 yards with another score … In all, tallied six total touchdowns standing tied for third on the squad … Scored a pair of touchdowns against Old Dominion (1 rush, 1 rcv) and Campbell (2 rush) … Also had touchdowns against NC State and South Florida … Ran for a season-high 75 yards with a long of 41 against Navy in the first quarter … Rushed for 61 yards against Campbell on 16 carries … Hauled in three passes for 40 yards versus South Florida … Recipient of the Pirate Man Award at ECU's annual end of the year banquet.
2021: Appeared in all 12 games rushing for a team second-best 583 yards on 165 carries (3.5 ypc) … Caught 24 passes out of the backfield for 162 yards (6.8 ypr) … Scored five total touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving) … Third on the team with 745 all-purpose yards (583 rush, 162 rec) in 2021 ... Established career-bests in receptions (four) and reception yards (56) vs. Appalachian State ... Tallied first 100-yard rushing game of the 2021 season against South Florida (22-100, TD) ... Rushed 10 or more times in a game on 10 occasions including the last eight contests … Tallied 60 or more ground yards in a game five times (70/South Carolina, 70/Tulane, 73/UCF, 100/South Florida, 69/Memphis) … Caught at least one pass in 11 of 12 games (multiple seven times) … Seven of 24 receptions resulted in an ECU first down … Thirty-six of 165 carries resulted in a first down) … Named to the 2021 Doak Walker Award Watch List … Was also a ‘21 First-Team Preseason All-American Athletic Conference selection by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview and a second-team choice by Athlon Sports.
2020: Earned American Athletic Conference Rookie-of-the-Year and first-team all-league honors as a true freshman … Played in eight contests and made five starts (successive games against Navy, Tulsa, Tulane, Cincinnati and Temple) … Did not experience action in season finale vs. SMU (medical) … Rushed for 624 yards and four touchdowns on 128 carries (78.0 ypg) – all team-highs … His 624-yard ground total was the most by an ECU freshman running back since Tony Baker racked up 827 in 1982 … Per-game average of 78.0 stood second among all AAC ballcarriers … Eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark on three occasions (19-115/South Florida, 22-172/Navy, 21-118/Tulsa), a first for a Pirate RB since Breon Allen in 2014 … The triple-digit outings also came consecutively, a first at East Carolina since Tay Cooper accomplished the feat in 2012 … Recorded three rushes that went 20 or more yards – 80/Navy, 42/South Florida, 20/Tulsa … Tallied ground scores against South Florida (42- and 10-yarders), Navy (80) and Cincinnati (1) … In addition to trio of century-mark performances, other notable outings included an 84-yard (season-high 23 attempts) night at Cincinnati, a 65-yard (14) afternoon at Temple and a 42-yard (12) effort in debut vs. UCF … First-ever collegiate carry was a four-yarder on a first-and-10 snap at the ECU 7-yard line on the Pirates’ fourth first-quarter possession against the Knights … Used sparingly in tilts vs. Georgia State (4-1) and Tulane (13-27) … His season-best 172-yard tally against Midshipmen at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium were the most by a Pirate in a single game since 2014 (211 by Breon Allen vs. North Carolina) and the second-highest total ever turned in by an ECU freshman (175 by Scott Harley vs. Temple in 1995) … His 115-yard effort at South Florida at Raymond James Stadium also marked the highest rushing clip by an ECU true freshman since 2004 (158 by Chris Johnson vs. Tulane) before besting that mark against Navy … Caught six passes out of the backfield for 31 yards and a score (four-yarder vs. Tulane) … Was targeted on seven occasions (85.7 percent catch rate) … Recorded at least one catch in five outings and had multiple grabs once (2 vs. Tulsa) … Longest reception was a 12-yarder at Temple … Home (80.3 ypg) and road (76.6) ground splits were similar, although all six catches came away from Greenville … Booked 448 yards and three TDs on 78 carries (89.6 ypg) in the first half of the season before netting 176 yards and one score on 50 totes during the second half (three games) … Enjoyed playing under the lights (3 games, 63-317, 105.7 ypg) compared to day games (5 games, 65-307, 61.4 ypg) … Month-by-month analysis included September (12-42, 42.0 ypg), October (66-406, 101.5 ypg) and November (50-176, 58.7 ypg) … Picked up seven or more yards on 31 carries and 27 (of 128) attempts produced a first down or touchdown … Averaged 5.1 yards per carry on first down, 4.6 on second down and 4.4 on third down … Named to the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Freshman All-America Watch List in mid-October … Officially enrolled early at ECU (January) but did not have the opportunity to participate in spring drills because of the pandemic.
High School: Rushed for 1,445 yards and 21 touchdowns on 169 carries as a senior to lead Byrnes to a 11-2 overall record, a 6-1 region ledger and playoff (quarterfinals) appearance … Averaged 8.6 yards per attempt and 131.4 yards per contest in 2019 … Helped key an offensive unit that averaged 40.6 points per game for coach Reggie Shaw … Authored six 100-yard rushing games and nine multi-TD games (and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in first nine contests) … Notable ground performances came against Gaffney (32-300, 4 TD), Laurens (23-281, 5 TD), Dorman (28-167), Spartanburg (14-146), Mauldin (11-115) and Nation Ford (7-115) … Had 17 receptions for 195 yards and four touchdowns … In all, racked up a total of 1,640 all-purpose yards (55/kickoff return, 29/punt return) and scored a combined 25 TDs … Top receiving contest was a four-catch, 71-yard effort vs. Greer in the season opener … Guided Rebels to playoff wins over Nation Ford (48-34) and Laurens (41-12) before falling to Gaffney (34-20) in the quarters … Netted 662 rushing yards and six scores on 113 carries (5.9 ypr) as a junior in 2018 to help BHS to an 11-3 record (6-1 region) … Top rushing outings were against Westside (9-146), Riverside (10-111, 3 TD) and Hillcrest (19-11) … Also caught 22 passes out of the backfield for 235 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 177 special teams yards (10-171 kickoff returns, 1-6 punt returns) … Rebels advanced to the 2018 state semifinals after downing Westside (57-14), Sumter (33-23) and Gaffney (27-22) before falling to T.L. Hanna (57-28) … Played key role for a 7-4 squad as a sophomore … Accumulated 759 rushing yards and 11 TDs on 127 attempts and made 17 receptions for 228 yards and a pair of scores in 2017 … Had three noteworthy statistical performances, eclipsing the 100-yard rushing mark vs. Myrtle Beach (8-139, 2 TD) and Boiling Springs (22-154, 3 TD), while surpassing 100 receiving yards vs. Don Bosco Prep (4-107, 1 TD) … Also active on the Rebels’ special teams units as a sophomore, returning 10 kickoffs for 239 yards and five punts for 51 yards … BHS made a playoff appearance but fell to T.L. Hanna in the opening round … Earned first varsity letter under coach Brian Lane as a freshman in 2016, rushing for 696 yards and eight TDs on 107 carries (6.5 ypr) … Logged three 100-yard ground efforts as a rookie, eclipsing milestone in contests vs. Dorman (22-182, 2 TD), Nation Ford (14-146, 2 TD) and Broome (14-105) … Caught 10 passes for 72 yards and averaged 28.4 yards per kickoff return (9-256) … Rated three stars by all three major recruiting outlets – 247Sports.com, Rivals.com and ESPN.com … Also ranked as the 17th-best prospect in South Carolina by Rivals.com (25th by 247Sports.com) … Also recruited by Appalachian State, Clemson, UCF, Colorado State, Georgia Southern, Memphis, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin to name a few before officially committing to East Carolina on Sept. 28, 2019.
Personal: First name is pronounced RAH-jay … Earned undergraduate degree in communication (Dec. 23) and is currently pursuing second degree recreation and parks management … Five-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member (spring 2021, fall 2022, spring 2023, fall 2023, spring 2024) … Two-time AAC All-Academic Team selection (2020, 2022).
