D.J. Ford: S · East Carolina · #9.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
D.J. Ford
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for three head coaches across four seasons and two programs. A game that shows it: 6 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Marshall — Week 3, 2021.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
32 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | East Carolina | 32 | 22 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 3 | -- |
| 2019 | North Carolina | 54 | 30 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2018 | North Carolina | 15 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2016 | North Carolina | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 104 | 60 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 7 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 10 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 19-33@ App State | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 17-20vs South Carolina | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 42-38@ Marshall | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-28vs Charleston Southern | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 52-29vs Tulane | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 16-20@ UCF | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-31@ Houston | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 29-14vs South Florida | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 30-29@ Memphis | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 13-35vs No. 4 Cincinnati | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 22 | 2.5 | 0.0 | — | 3 |
Week 3 · 2021
W 42-38
at Marshall
0.5 tackles for loss · 6 tackles · 1 pass breakup
Edged out Marshall on the road in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
9%3 pass breakupsTackle volume
32tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%2 TFL32 tackles · 2.5 for loss · 3 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 3.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Houston
Pass share
47.5%
441 pass / 488 run
Plays / game
77.4
12 games
Team sack rate
7.9%
454 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #449 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons, at North Carolina and East Carolina, 104 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2016–2021
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Larry Fedora, Mack Brown and Mike Houston.
