Running back Bhayshul Tuten rewarding Jaguars' faith with strong start

Bhayshul Tuten didn’t need to hear from his head coach or any of his Jacksonville Jaguars teammates that March afternoon when Travis Etienne agreed to sign with the New Orleans Saints.

Following a rookie season in which he showed flashes in general and particularly in the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, Tuten knew what it meant.

“It was time to go,” he said.

And …

“It was time to work hard,” he said.

And …

“It was time to show my ability,” he said.

It was time for all of it. To show he could succeed Etienne. To show he can be a No. 1 running back in the NFL. To show he is able to replicate his college production.

“Trav moved on and there was a big question mark about the running back room and if they would bring anybody in or if they would rock with

me,” Tuten said during a recent interview with The Times-Union.

Consider that question mark — could Tuten carry the load? — answered.

Through five weeks for the 4-1 Jaguars, Tuten has seized on the opportunity and ranks ninth in carries (82), 11th in yards (349) and tied for 17th in rushing touchdowns (two) and tied for 18th yards per carry (4.3).

“He’s been great,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “Every week, he’s gotten better and better. He’s a guy that seems like he’s getting more and more comfortable (with) the more touches he gets.”

Getting to the NFL is rarely a straight line for a player. They may not have the ideal measurables. They may play at a smaller school. They may not be a first-round pick. But they overcome it and thrive.

Tuten is another example.

Grew up in small-town New Jersey

Tuten, 23, grew up in Paulsboro, N.J., which hugs the Delaware River about 30 minutes southwest of Philadelphia, and when he says it’s the kind of small town where just about everybody knows just about everybody else, he’s not exaggerating. The July 2025 census listed a population of 6,329 and the last published enrollment for the high school was 390 students in Grades 9-12.

Tuten grew up in a house led by parents Nate and Melissa and included one older sister and two younger sisters (he has eight total siblings).

“The only time it got hectic was in the morning when we were getting ready for school,” Tuten said. “The bathroom got busy.”

The origin of his parents naming him “Bhayshul” is when his father saw it in a book.

“They said it was courage and resilience,” Tuten said. “And there weren’t too many people with that name.”

He is the first NFL player with Bhayshul as a first name.

Tuten started playing football early in junior high after playing street ball.

“I loved it,” he said. “I was pretty much faster than a lot of the kids so they would give jet sweeps and toss sweeps and let me run so football was pretty easy at first.”

From the sixth grade to the ninth grade, Tuten worked on his skills with several coaches, including his cousin, Kevin Harvey, who was also an assistant at Paulsboro. As a freshman, Tuten started at cornerback and was the back-up running back.

Paulsboro coach Glenn Howard’s first impression?

“I remember him being a talented, special athlete,” Howard said in a phone interview. “I knew he had a bright future ahead of him — that was pretty obvious even though he was a young ballplayer. He had to compete for playing time, but he knew eventually his time would come to be the main ball carrier.”

Tuten’s sophomore season was semi-derailed by a broken thumb (“I just broke the smaller bones around the joint”) but didn’t require surgery. But he broke out as a junior and finished his high school career with 429 carries for 3,768 yards and, gulp, 77 touchdowns.

Tuten had speed, but as high school career progressed, he added all facets of the position to his set of skills.

“I always considered him a very versatile back,” said Howard, who retired in 2021 with a 316-70 record and the high school’s stadium was named after him last year. “He was a pleasure to work with, I will tell you that.”

As a senior, he rushed 65 times for 317 yards in Paulsboro’s first two playoff games while fighting a turf toe injury.

“It was definitely a huge thing to fight (through),” he said. “The turf toe was pretty bad, but I wasn’t going to give up on my guys. It was the playoffs. There were only a couple more weeks of football so I couldn’t let the guys down.”

Started at North Carolina A&T, finished at Virginia Tech

Tuten showed production and toughness, speed and versatility during his high school career, but for whatever reason, he had trouble generating recruiting interest. Tuten’s mom started a process of emailing coaches and Howard and his staff were also involved. That allowed Tuten to focus on school and football.

Frustrating? Not really.

“I knew it would be tough (to gain interest), but I knew from the way I played the game, somebody would come along,” Tuten said.

What happened? Was it his height (listed at 5-foot-9)? Was it playing at a small school?

“I was very disappointed and I still don’t really know what the heck colleges were thinking,” he said.

One of Howard’s theories is 2021 was the start of bonus post-pandemic seasons for college football players and colleges weren’t as interested in high school players.

“A lot of schools came in, and I talked to a lot of people, but he didn’t really get that many doors opened for him,” Howard said. “He had the stats, he had the game footage, he had positive recommendations. It just didn’t go as we had hoped.”

But …

“God had a plan for him,” Howard said.

The plan was North Carolina A&T. Tuten and his parents didn’t know much about the school, but they connected with the coaching staff during his visit and signed ahead of the 2021 season.

It didn’t take long for Tuten to realize he belonged. This was confidence, not arrogance. This was belief, not ultra-haughtiness.

“I have never doubted (myself), whether it was little league, high school or college, whether or not I belonged or could play at that level; I kind of always knew it,” he said. “That’s just my mindset.”

For the FCS school, Tuten had seasons of 37 carries-215 yards-one touchdown and 208 carries-1,363 yards-13 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he was first-team All-Big South and third-team All-America.

Tuten enjoyed the experience at A&T, was grateful they gave him a chance and appreciated the level of competition, but he wanted to test himself at the FBS level, so he entered the transfer portal after the 2022 season.

“I had a lot of calls coming in,” he said.

Tuten estimated more than 30 schools showed interest, which was gratifying (they were seeing what he knew — he could play) and exciting (he got to experience the recruiting process for the first time).

Tuten initially committed to Boston College after a visit, but then visited Virginia Tech. He flipped and signed with the Hokies.

As a junior, Tuten’s breakout game was 24 carries for 109 yards against Pittsburgh.

“We were just on in that game,” he said. “We did pretty much what we wanted.”

Tuten finished 2023 with 173 carries for 863 yards and 10 touchdowns along with 27 catches. In 2024, he rushed 183 times for 1,159 yards and 15 touchdowns, including a school record 266 yards against, you guessed it, Boston College.

“My favorite game,” he said. “My best performance and most memorable.”

’Sky’s the limit’ for Tuten

Tuten participated in the Senior Bowl and was a Combine standout by running the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds (best among all running backs). Jaguars running backs coach Chad Morton’s initial scouting report after watching Tuten’s college work?

“I saw a lot of speed,” Morton said after a recent Jaguars practice. “That was the exciting part, just knowing that any chance he got, he had the opportunity to go the distance.”

Morton met Tuten via video conference before the draft.

“He was good,” Morton said. “Low-key but locked in and focused.”

Jaguars coach Liam Coen said general manager James Gladstone brought up Tuten, “very early in the scouting process that we should potentially target.” The Jaguars had Travis Etienne entering the final year of his rookie contract and were looking for a possible eventual replacement.

“James never wavered throughout the whole process,” Coen said. “As you watched more and more of him, it became apparent the yards he could get on his own to stay on track when maybe it wasn’t blocked perfectly.”

As Day 3 (rounds 4-7) of the draft began, Tuten remained on the board and Morton remained optimistic.

“Somebody with talent like that, you always hope you get, but the tough part is you have zero control over it,” Morton said. “You don’t know who else has the same positive attitude toward him as you do and may want to take him and know his value. We were just sitting back and waiting.

“He fell to us and it was perfect.”

Tuten was drafted in the fourth round (No. 104 overall) and played in 15 regular season games as a rookie, carrying 83 times for 307 yards; he missed two games after sustaining a broken finger when it got stuck in the facemask of a New York Jets player. Tuten said a screw was “put in permanently.”

It was against the Bills in the playoffs that Tuten shined. On three consecutive plays, he had carries of 20, 14 and 13 yards to set up the Jaguars’ first touchdown.

“I knew the level of play I needed at — that was the biggest takeaway from that game,” Tuten said.

The other takeaway was the coaching points Morton delivered. The yards were great, but they could have been even better. Vision. Pad level. Squaring the shoulders.

“Absolutely he has improved dramatically in all of the finer details of each play and that’s helped him play faster,” Morton said.

Morton has also noticed how Tuten carries himself. Again, confident, not arrogant.

“When you’re behind somebody like (Etienne), (Tuten) was like the little brother,” Morton said. “But now he has to step up and be one of the older guys even though he’s still young.”

One of the older guys is noticing.

“He gets better with every game,” veteran running back Ameer Abdullah said. “He’s a guy that you really love because he’s a volume guy like going back in the day and the guys who got better with every single carry. That’s who Tuten is. He gets his vision going and he gets a feel for the game (with more carries) and that’s when he’s at his best.”

Abdullah has carved out a lengthy career (159 games/518 carries) and also played with a who’s who of runners — Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray in Minnesota, Christian McCaffrey in Carolina, Josh Jacobs in Las Vegas and Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis. The guy knows a quality back when he sees it. The talent. The mindset. The want-to. And Tuten is on the right path.

“He’s only in Year 2,” Abdullah said. “The sky’s the limit.”

Contact O’Halloran at [e-mail] or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays ("First Coast Football Friday" 4-7 p.m.).

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Running back Bhayshul Tuten rewarding Jaguars' faith with strong start