Minnesota State University - Mankato Athletics

2020: No season due to COVID-19...Named to the NSIC All-Academic Team/Team of Excellence...Named to the NFF Hampshire Honor Society.

2019: Played in all 15 games for the Mavericks, including one start…Recorded 513 rushing yards and eight touchdown carries…Also caught one touchdown pass…Named to the NSIC All-Academic Team…Also garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District honors…Led the team with 343 kick return yards…Tallied a season-high 91 rushing yards against the University of Mary…Posted three touchdown carries against Minnesota Crookston.

2018: Played in 13 games for the Mavericks…Finished second on the team in rushing yards with 469…Tallied four rushing touchdowns…Led the Mavericks in the kick return game as he returned 20 kicks for 472 yards and a touchdown…Rushed for a season-high 158 yards against Concordia-St. Paul…Returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown against Minot State as time expired in the second quarter and was named the NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts…Named to the NSIC All-Academic Team and Team of Excellence.

2017: Appeared in all 14 games for the Mavericks, including three starts, at tailback…Rushed for 1,140 yards and 11 touchdowns…Rushed for more than 100 yards in five games, including a season-high 203 yards against Wayne State…He was just the sixth Maverick in team history to rush for more than 200 yards in a game…Recorded three rushing touchdowns against Wayne State and two against the University of Mary, Concordia-St. Paul and Upper Iowa…Notched 134 rushing yards against Midwestern State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament…Averaged 81.4 rushing yards a game and 6.3 yards per carry.

2016: Redshirted.

High School: Was a four-year starter for the Geneva Community High School football team…Competed as a running back, defensive back and return specialist…Earned first team all-conference and all-area honors as a junior and a senior… Rushed for 1,014 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior…Tallied 1,491 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior…Established a 7A state record with 42 carries in a game…Played two seasons of basketball... Competed in the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash events as a member of the track and field team... Won a pair of conference championships in the long jump…Named to the Honor Roll and the National Honor Society…Received all-state academic honors.

Personal: Justin is the son of Gregory and Missy Taormina…Born October 1, 1997…Intends to major in business management.