Jaleel McLaughlin

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

McLaughlin's journey began in Marshville, where he battled homelessness after his mother lost her job. The family lived in hotels and motels before losing their grandmother's home upon her death from a heart attack. For several months, McLaughlin and his siblings slept in a car parked outside a McDonald's before moving in with a relative. At Forest Hills High School, he excelled in football, basketball, and track, yet received no Division I offers due to his size; teams only wanted him as a defensive back. He committed to the Notre Dame Falcons, one of the few schools allowing him to play running back. There, he shattered records immediately, setting a Division II single-game rushing record with 302 yards in his debut and breaking it again later with 340 yards against West Liberty.

In Their Own Story

His college dominance was relentless. By the fifth game of his freshman year at Notre Dame, McLaughlin led all of Division II with 1,091 rushing yards. He finished that season leading the entire NCAA in rushing with 2,421 yards and becoming the first true freshman All-American for the program. As a sophomore, he posted an NCAA-leading 2,316 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns. Transferring to Youngstown State for his junior season, he continued his historic run. In his final year, 2022, entering the second-to-last game, he needed exactly 219 yards to break Nate Kmic's all-time college football record. He surged ahead with 227 yards against Missouri State, finishing his career with a staggering 8,166 rushing yards on 1,250 attempts and 79 touchdowns. This historic total secured him the title of NCAA's all-time leading rusher before he entered the NFL draft.

Reader's Guide

McLaughlin was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2023 after going unselected in the draft. His rookie season saw him appear in all 17 games with three starts. He scored his first career touchdown on a five-yard rush against the Washington Commanders in Week 2. A standout performance came in Week 4, where he ran for 72 yards (averaging 10.3 per carry) and caught all three targets for 32 yards and another touchdown, earning the game ball. His rookie stats included 76 carries for 410 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, alongside 31 receptions for 160 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Although the Broncos initially decided not to tender him as a restricted free agent during the 2026 offseason, they re-signed him to a one-year, $1.145 million contract on March 13, 2026.

Did You Know?

• McLaughlin and his family lived in a car parked outside a McDonald's for several months during their homelessness.
• Despite averaging over eight yards per carry in high school, he received no offers from NCAA Division I teams due to his 5 ft 7 in height.
• He set the all-time college football rushing record by gaining exactly 227 yards against Missouri State when he needed 219 yards.
• As a freshman at Notre Dame College, he became the first true freshman ever to win All-American honors for the program.
• In Week 4 of his rookie NFL season, McLaughlin caught all three targets thrown to him while also rushing for a touchdown.