Virginia Lands Former Middle Tennessee State RB Jekail Middlebrook

Virginia has landed its second commitment of the day after Jekail Middlebrook chose his next college destination after three seasons with Middle Tennessee State. Middlebrook rushed for 754 yards and four touchdowns. He had one of his best games against Kennesaw State this past season rushing for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

Virginia has landed a commitment from Middle Tennessee running back transfer Jekail Middlebrook, his agents @david_benzaken and @IanGrutman tell me and @chris_hummer.

Accumulated 1,164 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns at Middle Tennessee this season. pic.twitter.com/2URT7cwIbZ
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 4, 2026

He finished his Blue Raiders career with 1,110 yards and eight touchdowns. Virginia has been no stranger to using the portal to find gems and they produce at a high level. J’Mari Taylor is a great example of that this past year. He rushed for 1,062 yards and 14 touchdowns

When you take a deeper look at his numbers, you can’t help but be impressed. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF) finishing with a 78.7 offensive grade. He posted a stellar 85.4 run grade, and a 88.7 run block grade. MiddleBrooks had 575 yards after contact this season including a season-high 95 against Missouri State. He also had 20 explosive runs (10+ yards) for Middle Tennessee State this past season.

An underrated part of his game that took a step forward waas his receiving. He finished with a career high 40 catches, 412 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. Even better was he averaged 10 yards per catch in 2025. He didn’t drop a lot of passes either finishing with a 78.1 grade in drops which werent’t a common occurrence.

In his career with Middle Tennessee State he was named a Conference USA All-Freshman player. Here is a little bit more of what he accomplished in 2025 via his bio on Middle Tennessee State.

• “Played and started 11 games

• Led team for the season in rushing with a career-best 752 yards and four touchdowns while also adding a personal-high 40 receptions for 412 yards and three scores

• His 40 receptions placed him in the top five nationally among running backs

• His 1,228 all-purpose yards led the team and made him the first MTSU back to reach 1,000 yards since 2016

• Led team with 48 rushing yards against APSU to go with two receptions

• Paced Blue Raiders with 27 rushing yards at Wisconsin to go with a team-high five receptions for 36 yards

• Had 10 carries for 67 yards on the ground to lead team in win over Nevada, while also grabbing four receptions

• Led team with 89 yards rushing on just six carries against Marshall to go with four receptions

• Recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game at KSU with 109 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns (had PFF grade of 75.9)

• Registered a game-high 93 rushing yards to go with three receptions against Missouri State (70.4 PFF grade was second-best on offense)

• Had 147 all-purpose yards at Delaware with 68 rushing, 53 receiving and 26 on punt returns (also had a rushing TD)

• Tallied 107 all-purpose yards against Jax State while registering six receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving)

• Turned in five receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown against FIU to go with 30 rushing yards

• Did not play at WKU due to an injury

• Returned in the win over Sam Houston to rush for 106 yards on 15 carries to go with two receptions and a TD

• Led team with 95 rushing yards on 20 attempts in win at NMSU”

A good pickup for the Cavaliers as they retool their roster.

More Virginia Football News:

•Virginia Cavaliers Lose Another Wide Receiver to Transfer Portal

•Virginia Cavaliers Get More Good News Regarding Their Offensive Line For 2026

•Virginia Wide Receiver Announces Entrance Into Transfer Portal

•Virginia Football Reportedly in the Mix for Top Transfer Portal Quarterback