Kelly has tackles in 8 of James Madison’s 9 games: none against Marshall.
DJ Kelly
Reads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away. Played for two head coaches at two programs in two seasons: Robert Weiner and Billy Napier. A game that shows it: 6 tackles against Troy — Week 9, 2026.
22 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Reads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
22 tackles. 6 passes defended. 4 interceptions. 0 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 22 | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 4 |
| 2025 | Toledo | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | 32 | 20 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7 | 5 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 pass breakup, 6 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 20-13vs Liberty | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 87-3vs Wagner | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 26-13@ San Diego State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 46-20@ Old Dominion | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 45-17vs Marshall | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-24@ Georgia Southern | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 49-22vs Georgia State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 31-34@ App State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 9 | L 21-24vs Troy | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Total | 22 | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 6 |
Oct. 29 · L 21-24 vs Troy, play by play
6 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. His pass breakup on 4th and 4 ended Troy’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 6, sacks included.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 4. First quarter, tied 0-0. Ended Troy’s drive (downs).
His game this year: coverage — 6 passes defended in the 9 games with play by play.
How James Madison’s defense played that day
Troy’s 14 drives: 11 stopped (1 takeaway) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 7 of 9.
2 tackles, including 2 passes 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 interception. His interception on 3rd and 1 ended Georgia State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 3rd and 1. First quarter, up 14-7. Ended Georgia State’s drive (int).
0 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
A big game: 0 tackles, including 2 interceptions, tied for the most interceptions in FBS that week. His interception ended Marshall’s drive (int).
Intercepted. Second quarter, up 24-14. Ended Marshall’s drive (int).
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, up 38-17. Ended Marshall’s drive (int).
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle, including 1 interception. His interception ended San Diego State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 2 for him; the box score credits 1.
Intercepted. First quarter, up 7-0. Ended San Diego State’s drive (int).
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
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 -15 to +8 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
27%6 pass breakupsInterceptions
4interceptionsTackle volume
22tackles this season22 tackles · 6 pass breakups · 4 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road4g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Billy Napier
Pass share
45.5%
283 pass / 339 run
Plays / game
69.1
9 games
Team sack rate
3.3%
306 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Surprisingly productive for a corner with no award recognition yet — top-10% passes broken up, top-1% interceptions.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #7 at the position.
The No. 1,671 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Sun Belt.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Jason Candle and Billy Napier.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to James Madison
Sun Belt Conference
