Running back, Northern Iowa (from Drake), 2022–26
Taj Hughes
- Number
- No. 25
- Height
- 5′9″
- Weight
- 185 lb
- Class (2026)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Phoenix, AZ
Taj Hughes plays running back for Northern Iowa, after Drake (2022–25). Last time out, at Youngstown State: 4 catches, 31 yards.
2026 so far
20 catches, 168 yards
Last game: 4 catches, 31 yards at Youngstown State, L 22–35
Next game: at Southern Illinois, Oct 24
Filled bars: wins; outlined: losses.
Career highs
11catches, career hightwice; last at Tarleton State, 2024127receiving yards, career highvs. Butler, 20242receiving touchdowns, career highat Tarleton State, 2024Team titles: Pioneer Football League champions, 2023, 2024 and 2025
Rushing
* The season in progress, so far.
| Season | Team | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Drake | 5 | 14 | 2.8 | 0 | 6 |
| 2023 | Drake | 8 | 17 | 2.1 | 0 | 12 |
| 2024 | Drake | 16 | 86 | 5.4 | 1 | 25 |
| 2025 | Drake | 29 | 143 | 4.9 | 0 | 19 |
| 2026 | Northern Iowa | 9 | 49 | 5.4 | 0 | 12 |
| Career | 67 | 309 | 4.6 | 1 | 25 | |
Receiving
| Season | Team | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Drake | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2023 | Drake | 13 | 147 | 11.3 | 0 | 30 |
| 2024 | Drake | 73 | 647 | 8.9 | 4 | 55 |
| 2025 | Drake | 39 | 406 | 10.4 | 2 | 55 |
| 2026 | Northern Iowa | 20 | 168 | 8.4 | 0 | 68 |
| Career | 146 | 1,371 | 9.4 | 6 | 68 | |
Returns
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Drake | 25 | RB | Yr 1 | ||
| 2023 | Drake | 25 | RB | Yr 2 | ||
| 2024 | Drake | 25 | RB | Yr 3 | ||
| 2025 | Drake | 25 | RB | Yr 4 | ||
| 2026 | Northern Iowa | 25 | RB | Sr. (Yr 5) | 5′9″ | 185 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Drake (FCS) | 3 | 0.24 | – | – | 0.7 | – |
| 2023 | Drake (FCS) | 18 | 0.48 | – | – | 8.6 | – |
| 2024 | Drake (FCS) | 87 | 0.54 | 99th (n=434) | 0.16 | 47.2 | 14% |
| 2025 | Drake (FCS) | 98 | 0.37 | 99th (n=576) | 0.10 | 36.5 | 13% |
| 2026 | Northern Iowa (FCS) | 34 | 0.30 | – | – | 10.2 | 9% |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2026 Northern Iowa 6 games, 20 catches, 168 yards
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at Eastern Washington | L 24–34 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Sep 12 | vs. Drake | W 56–14 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 0 |
| Sep 19 | at Iowa | L 0–55 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Sep 26 | vs. Illinois State | W 28–21 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 80 | 0 |
| Oct 10 | vs. North Dakota | W 24–17 | – | – | – | 5 | 31 | 0 |
| Oct 17 | at Youngstown State | L 22–35 | – | – | – | 4 | 31 | 0 |
2025 Drake 11 games, 143 rushing yards
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28 | vs.Upper Iowa | W 41–7 | 6 | 36 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Sep 13 | at South Dakota State | L 21–37 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 0 |
| Sep 20 | at South Dakota | L 21–42 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 0 |
| Oct 4 | vs. Valparaiso | W 41–0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 74 | 0 |
| Oct 11 | at San Diego | W 19–16 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 0 |
| Oct 18 | vs. Davidson | W 45–0 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 1 |
| Oct 25 | at Marist | W 31–17 | – | – | – | 7 | 106 | 1 |
| Nov 8 | vs. St. Thomas (MN) | L 13–20 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 8 | 55 | 0 |
| Nov 15 | at Dayton | W 14–6 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 0 |
| Nov 22 | vs. Morehead State | W 17–10 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 0 |
| Nov 29 | atSouth Dakota | L 17–38 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 0 |
No box score in the source for Nov 1 at Butler, so that game is not listed.
2024 Drake 11 games, 73 catches, 647 yards, 4 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7 | atEastern Washington | W 35–32 | – | – | – | 11 | 83 | 0 |
| Sep 21 | atSouth Dakota | L 3–42 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Sep 28 | vs.San Diego | W 30–28 | – | – | – | 3 | 17 | 0 |
| Oct 5 | atValparaiso | W 27–3 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| Oct 12 | vs. Butler | W 27–17 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 127 | 1 |
| Oct 19 | at Presbyterian | W 19–16 | 3 | 34 | 1 | 5 | 68 | 0 |
| Nov 2 | vs.Marist | W 19–0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 79 | 0 |
| Nov 9 | atSt. Thomas (MN) | W 22–19 | – | – | – | 8 | 72 | 1 |
| Nov 16 | vs.Morehead State | L 20–29 | – | – | – | 7 | 41 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | at Stetson | W 49–10 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 81 | 0 |
| Nov 30 | at Tarleton State | L 29–43 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 11 | 63 | 2 |
No box score in the source for Aug 29 vs. Quincy, so that game is not listed.
2023 Drake 11 games, 13 catches, 147 yards
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | atNorth Dakota | L 7–55 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | vs.Northwestern (IA) | L 24–27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Sep 16 | vs.South Dakota State | L 7–70 | 1 | −4 | 0 | 3 | 46 | 0 |
| Sep 30 | atMorehead State | W 16–9 | – | – | – | 3 | 21 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | vs.St. Thomas (MN) | W 52–21 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | atSan Diego | W 25–20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | vs.Stetson | W 33–7 | – | – | – | 1 | 25 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | atMarist | W 10–3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Nov 11 | vs.Presbyterian | W 16–14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Nov 18 | atButler | W 13–9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Nov 25 ✦ | at North Dakota State | L 3–66 | – | – | – | 1 | 7 | 0 |
2022 Drake 3 games, 14 rushing yards
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8 | vs.San Diego | L 10–22 | 4 | 11 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Oct 15 | atSt. Thomas (MN) | L 14–26 | – | – | – | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Oct 29 | atStetson | W 24–17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
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