Jalen Bonds holds the RB · Backup spot in Ball State Cardinals’s running back room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Jalen Bonds logged a 14.7% overall usage rate in 2025.

Jalen Bonds is a redshirt freshman running back from Cathedral HS in Indianapolis. He appeared in the final three games of 2025 after recovering from a preseason injury, making his college debut against Eastern Michigan on November 15. At Toledo on November 22, Bonds compiled 112 scrimmage yards, the most by a Ball State freshman since Carson Steele in 2021. He rushed 27 times for 77 yards and one touchdown while catching 2 passes for 52 yards across the season. Bonds enters 2026 with four years of eligibility remaining.