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Jersey Number 21
Ismail Mahdi
- Position:
- Running Back
- Ht./Wt.:
- 5-9 / 184
- Class:
- Fifth Year
- Hometown:
- Murphy, Texas
- High School:
- Plano East HS
- Prev School:
- Texas State
Headlines
- Ismail Mahdi, Max Harris return to Arizona football for final season (Arizona Daily Star)
- Bear Down BBQ: Arizona RB Ismail Mahdi becomes co-owner of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Tucson (Arizona Daily Star)
Honors and Awards
- 2025: CSC Academic All-District
- 2025: All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
- 2025: Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (9/15)
- 2024: All-Sun Belt First-Team Offense
- 2024: Maxwell Award Watch List
- 2024: Paul Hornung Awaward Watch List
- 2024: Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List
- 2023: First Team All-American (All-purpose player; CBS Sports/247Sports)
- 2023: Second Team All-American (All-purpose player; FWAA, The Athletic, ESPN, Phil Steele)
- 2023: Third Team All-American (All-purpose player; Athlon Sports)
- 2023: All-Sun Belt First Team (All-purpose)
- 2023: All-Sun Belt Second Team (Return specialist)
- 2023: All-Texas Second Team (Dave Campbell's Texas Football)
- 2023: Paul Hornung Award National Player of the Week (9/30)
Purchase Jersey
Arizona 2025 (Senior)
- Played in all 13 games with 10 starts for the Wildcats, earning time on 390 offensive snaps
- Rushed 134 times for 859 yards and four touchdowns
- Led the team in rush attempts, yards, yards per attempt (6.4), and yards per game (66.1)
- Also pulled in 17 receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown
- Picked up All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recognition
- Selected as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (9/15) for his 189-yard performance against Kansas State
- Rushed for 50-plus yards eight times, including in each of the Wildcats final three games
Texas State 2024 (Junior)
- Played in 12 games in his second season with the Bobcats and earnd time in 484 offensive snaps
- Logged 183 rush attempts for 991 yards and four touchdowns
- Also tallied 24 receptions for 195 yards and two touchdowns
- Named All-Sun Belt First Team (offense) and All-Sung Belt Second Team (all-purpose)
- Led the team in rush attempts and rush yards
- Finished the year ranked third in the Sun Belt with 991 rush yards
- Led the team and ranked 27th in FBS with 1,383 all-purpose yards
- Across 484 offensive snaps earned a PFF offensive grade of 80.3; included an 84.2 rushing grade
Texas State 2023 (Sophomore)
- Played in all 13 games and saw time on 517 offensive snaps in his first year at Texas State
- Rushed 223 times for 1,331 yards and 10 touchdowns
- Added 20 receptions for 275 yards and one touchdown
- First Team All-American as an all-purpose player by CBS Sports/247Sports
- Second Team All-American as an all-purpose player by FWAA, ESPN, The Athletic, and Phil Steele
- Led the nation with 2,169 all-purpose yards
- Finished the year ranked 12th in FBS in rushing yards and 13th in rushing yards per game (102.4)
- Tabbed as the Paul Hornung Award National Player of the Week in Week 5 after totaling 316 all-purpose yards and scoring 4 total touchdowns at Southern Miss
- Set 5 different Texas State FBS-era single-season records: rushing yards (1,331), rush attempts (223), rushing yards per game (102.4), all-purpose yards (2,169), and all-purpose yards per game (166.85)
- Notched four 100-yard rushing games, including a season-high 216-yard effort against Nevada on Sept. 23
- Had eight games of 150+ all-purpose yards, including the season-high 316 at Southern Miss
- Recorded 100+ all-purpose yards in 12 of the 13 games
- Returned the opening kickoff of the game for a touchdown on Sept. 30 at Southern Miss, making him the first Bobcat to do that in 64 years to accomplish the feat
Houston Christian 2022 (Freshman)
- Played in eight games as a true freshman at Houston Christian and earned time on 387 offensive snaps
- Rushed 112 times for 598 yards and two touchdowns
- Also caught 32 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns
- Named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award
- FCS STATS Perform National Freshman of the Week (Sept. 5, 2022)
- Southland Conference Player of the Week (Sept. 5, 2022)
- Totaled 901 all-purpose yards and 5 total touchdowns in eight games as a true freshman
- Had 267 all-purpose yards and 2 total TDs in his collegiate debut on Sept. 3 at Northern Colorado, including 184 rushing yards on 25 attempts and 83 yards on 2 receptions
High School
- Two-year letterwinner at Plano East High School
- In 2021 as a senior, he rushed for 1,332 yards on 178 carries and scored 14 TDs
- Unanimous All-District 6A-6 running back as a senior
- Landry Award Watch List in 2021, which is awarded to the top high school football player in North Texas
- Ran the 100 meter dash in track, recording a personal-best 10.60 at the 6A Area 5-6 meet in April 2022
- Also ran in the 400, 4x100 Relay and 4x400 Relay
Personal
- Born in Kenya
- Fourth-oldest of eight children; 5 brothers and 2 sisters
- Co-owner of a Dickey's Barbecue Pit restaurant in Tucson
Wednesday, August 12
Monday, August 10
Monday, August 10
Sunday, August 09
