![Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten (33) takes a hand off from Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Joey Aguilar (17) during the second day of minicamp at the Miller Electric Center, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Jacksonville. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_204,w_1222,h_687/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/55/01kyqjsqssqvmv13h71t.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten (33) takes a hand off from Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Joey Aguilar (17) during the second day of minicamp at the Miller Electric Center, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Jacksonville. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]")
In spite of the outside noise, the Jacksonville Jaguars are confident that Bhayshul Tuten can replace Travis Etienne as the top option in their backfield. Heck, head coach Liam Coen believes the sophomore running back could be special. Having said that, all the praise in the world won't matter if you don't deliver. The Jags should be thrilled that "Tut" did just that on Day 1 of training camp.
Tuten had a fine offseason, and he picked up where he left off. John Shipley of Sports Illustrated reported that Tuten was "frankly the most impressive offensive player of the entire day," adding that he mostly worked with the first team.
If there were any doubts about Tuten's capability of stepping into Etienne's shoes next season, they should have died down substantially.
Bhayshul Tuten has been what the Jaguars bargained for (and then some)
The Jaguars caught lots of heat for letting Travis Etienne bolt for the New Orleans Saints because he ran for more than 1,000 yards for the third time in his career and posted a career-best 13 total touchdowns. Meanwhile, Tuten averaged a measly 3.7 yards. Coupled with his lack of experience, it's easy to see why running back appeared to be a question mark from an outside perspective. However, a closer look shows why Jacksonville is so high on Tuten.
Tuten got plenty of work on short-yardage situations. That brought down his yard-per-carry average, but he still managed to score five touchdowns, and that isn't brougth up nearly enough.
Heck, advanced data shows that the former Virginia Tech Hokie was a highly producted running in a limited role. His rushing success of 48.3 percent was third among 55 running backs with 75 carries or more last year. Similarly, his 21.8 percent rate of tackles avoided per carry ranked 10th.
The Jaguars expect big things from Bhayshul Tuten in Year 2
With Etienne out of the picture, Bhayshul Tuten will have a chance to showcase his home-run scheme, something vice president of football operations Tony Boselli recently acknowledged.
"Bayshul at Virginia Tech was a home run here. I mean, he ran a 4.29 or 4.31 [second dash] or some crazy. Big back and run and go," Boselli said during an exchange on 1010 XL (7:22 mark). "He then came in here in a different role because he was a football back in college, and he ended up being one of the best short-yardage, goal-line backs in the NFL. You talk about also yards after contact, he was right up there with Chris Rodriguez, some of the best in the NFL."
Boselli continued, "He was also about five or six plays last year, one tackle, or getting ahead of himself and kind of going down and losing balance from taking it to the house. So we think he had a great rookie year. He's very has been great in the offseason. He has a real chance to elevate his game as well."
For the sake of clarity, Tuten ran the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds, posted a 40.5-inch vertical jump, and had a 10-yard split of 1.49 seconds. All were position bests in the 2025 scouting combine. Below's Boselli's full conversation on 1010 XL. His remarks about Tuten start at the 7:22 mark.
Based on his strong showing on Day 1 of training camp and Boselli's remarks, Bhayshul Tuten is on track to reward the Jaguars' trust in him.
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