Purdue · W 52-38
No tackles.
Wisconsin · W 17-7
No tackles.
Barksdale has tackles in 6 of UCLA’s 8 games: none against Purdue and Wisconsin.
3 stories in the last 30 days, from 3 outlets.
DJ Barksdale
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for two head coaches across four seasons and two programs. First career honor, 2025: All-Sun Belt. One game to point at: 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Maryland — Week 4, 2026.
16 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 3 outlets
FOX Sports Oct 31 · 1 outlet
from 4 outlets
FOX Sports Oct 31 · 1 outlet
FOX SportsEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
UCLA5 stories2026 to nowMost about: in his words, performance and stat line, win.
On3UCLA defensive back Derrick Barksdale talks role, coming to UCLA, physicalityAug 20UCLA BruinsFootball Media Availability - Derrick BarksdaleOct 5FOX SportsDerrick Barksdale intercepts Luke Duncan and returns 26-yards for TD, extending UCLA’s lead over NevadaOct 31On3Ty Dieffenbach, Derrick Barksdale, Aiden Gobaira after UCLA beats NevadaOct 31
James Madison2 stories2023 to 2025UCLA BruinsDerrick Barksdale - Football - UCLAJun 16On3Defensive back DJ Barksdale becomes latest JMU transfer for UCLAJun 19Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named DJ Barksdale at California.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UCLA | 16 | 8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | James Madison | 36 | 22 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | James Madison | 42 | 27 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2023 | James Madison | 15 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 109 | 64 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 16 | 5 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 tackle.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-24@ California | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-10vs San Diego State | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 54-3@ Maryland | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 6 | W 17-15@ No. 13 Oregon | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 28-10vs Michigan State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 27-0vs Nevada | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 27-0 vs Nevada, play by play
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 26 yards for the score. 1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 3rd and 12, returned 26 yards for the score. First quarter, made it 10-0.
His defensive touchdowns put 14 points on the board directly. Without them the final is 13-0, not 27-0.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 2 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 6 games with play by play.
How UCLA’s defense played that day
Nevada’s 11 drives: 11 stopped (4 takeaways) · 0 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 3. His pick-six came with UCLA up 3.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle, including 1 pass broken up.
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 10-yard loss. Second quarter, up 14-10.
Week 1 · 2026
W 45-24
at California
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 4 tackles
Dominant 21-point win on the road against California.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -9 to +17 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
12%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
16tackles this seasonTFL rate
12%2 TFL16 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 sack · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 3.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bob Chesney
Pass share
40.8%
218 pass / 316 run
Plays / game
66.8
8 games
Team sack rate
4.6%
241 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
2026 is in progress.
Recruited without a star rating, and honored since.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SUN BELT
All-Sun Belt mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Curt Cignetti and Bob Chesney.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to UCLA
