Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 7-59@ Texas | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 26-31vs UTSA | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Total | 11 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#3
Craig Royal Jr.
Senior defensive back on Texas State's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 185 lb · Houston, TX
Returning to Texas State for 2026
Recruiting
3★
CB recruit
No. 102 nationally · Joined Texas State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Texas State's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Texas State in 2025.
Craig Royal Jr.
Jams receivers off their route at the line. Second year in the Texas State secondary, same address the whole way. The receipt: 6 tackles against UTSA — Week 2, 2026.
11 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
20259 games
- Signed with Texas State3-star out of Butler C.C.
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Texas State
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under G.J. Kinne — 7-8 over that span.
2025Texas State7-6HC: G.J. Kinne · Run-heavy
2026Texas State0-2HC: G.J. Kinne · Run-heavy, fast tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (27th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 5.5 TKL/g, 0.5 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
G.J. Kinne
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Texas State | 11 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Texas State | 14 | 11 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 | -- |
| Career | 25 | 19 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 | -- |
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Long and physical; jams receivers off their route at the line.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Texas State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Texas State
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: -3 net (18 in / 21 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Texas State · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #82 · 2026 recruiting class #74
DNA match
Player DNA
Press Corner
Long and physical; jams receivers off their route at the line.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Decamerion Richardson’s 2021 season.
88%match
NFL Rd 4
Matches Decamerion on
Tackle volume
PD rate
Height
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Matagi Thompson's freshman season at Hawai'i (2022).
100%match
Matches Matagi on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Craig Royal Jr.
The secondary · Texas State
- #7Ryan Nolan72 tackles · 2025
- #1Amarion Atwood29 tackles · 2025
- #20Malik Willis20 tackles · 2025
- #24Dexter Ricks Jr.18 tackles · 2025
- #3Craig Royal Jr.14 tackles · 2025
12 more on the roster · Texas State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology