2025 Football Roster
Roster
Xavier Gayten
- Position:
- RB
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 205
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Brookhaven, Miss.
- High School/Previous School:
- Brookhaven HS
Career Notes
Played in 24 career games with zero starts … Following the 2025 season, Gayten had 272 rushing yards on 37 carries and three touchdowns … First career touchdown came on a 72-yard run, the longest rush for a State player since Nov. 5, 2016 (as of 2025).
2025 (Sophomore Season)
Played in all 13 games with zero starts … Rushed for 157 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns … Season-high 50-yards against Alcorn State … Scored touchdowns in back-to-back games (vs. Alcorn State & Northern Illinois) for the first time in his career … Led State running backs in rushing yards average per carry (5.4 ypc).
2024 (True Freshman Season)
Played in 11 games with zero starts … Rushed for 115 yards on 8 carries with one touchdown … Averaged 14.4 yards per carry and 10.5 yards per game … Earned longest rush (72-yards) by a State player since 2016 … Eastern Kentucky (8/31): Made his collegiate debut … Ran the ball three times for 16 yards ... Texas A&M (10/19): Ran the ball once for two yards ... Arkansas (10/26): Ran the ball twice for 28 yards ... Also caught one pass for 10 yards ... Made the first reception of his career ... His 28 rushing yards are a season-high ... Had a season best run of 17 yards ... UMass (10/2): Ran the ball twice for 69 yards and a touchdown ... Had a 72-yard touchdown run, the first career touchdown of his career and the longest run of the season for the Bulldogs ... His 69 rushing yards are also a season-high ... Became the fourth true freshman to score a touchdown in 2024 for Mississippi State ... His 72-yard rush was the longest rush for a Mississippi State player since Nov. 5, 2016.
High School
Prepped at Brookhaven High School under the direction of head coach Tucker Peavey … A 4-star recruit according to On3 … Considered a 3-star prospect by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals … Rated as the 36th best running back in the class and the 16th best player from the state of Mississippi … Committed to Mississippi State on June 7, 2023 as a safety … Earned First Team Mississippi All-State honors in 2023 … Ran for 2,055 yards and 25 touchdowns on 218 carries during his senior season in 2023 … Rushed for over 200 yards five times in 2023 … In 2022, he was named The Daily Leader All-Area Co-Offensive Player of the Year … During the 2022 season, he ran for 1,654 yards and 13 touchdowns … Started the 2022 season at quarterback before moving to running back … Rushed for 891 yards and 10 scores in 2021 and 616 yards and six touchdowns in 2020 … Rushed for 5,216 yards and 54 touchdowns in his high school career … Averaged 7.8 yards per carry in high school.
Personal
Ran track in high school and has a personal best time of 10.95 in the 100m dash … Born Dec. 12 ... Son to LaTronda Gayten and Willie Gayten Sr. ... Chose Mississippi State over Ole Miss, Southern Miss and others
Career-Highs Entering 2026
Rushing Attempts: 6, at Florida (10/18/2025)
Rushing Yards: 72, vs. UMass (11/02/2024)
Rushing Touchdowns: 1, vs. UMass (11/02/2024)
Longest Rush: 72 yards, vs. UMass (11/02/2024)
Receptions: 1, 4x, last at Missouri (11/15/2025)
Receiving Yards: 10, vs. Arkansas (10/26/2024)
Longest Reception: 10 yards, vs. Arkansas (10/26/2024)
![Jacksonville Jaguars punter Logan Cooke (9) punts during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Jets 48-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fmsstate.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F1%2F1%2FUSATSI_27828199.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
