#55

Elijah James

Senior defensive tackle for Liberty. 2021: 2 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 45 tackles.

DT · Liberty · Sr. · #55

6′5″ · 300 lb · Chicago, IL

CFB Index 14 · #258 of 274 interior linemenLow confidenceLiberty 2021 alumnus

The story

4 defensive tackle for Liberty. 2021: 2 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 45 tackles.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Central Michigan in 2017.

His career, year by year

Recruiting

2★

WDE recruit

No. 2981 nationally · Signed with Central Michigan

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

How it ended

Three seasons at Liberty, 97 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

2017

Signed with Central Michigan2-star out of Oswego East

20198 games

Signed with Liberty3-star out of Iowa Western C.C.

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#2981 national

CFB

College

Liberty

2019–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2019–2021

1 coach

2019–2021

Hugh Freeze

Liberty

Played his entire career under Hugh Freeze.

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Hugh Freeze — 26-11 over that span.

2019Liberty8-5HC: Hugh Freeze · Balanced

2020Liberty10-1HC: Hugh Freeze · Run-heavy, fast tempo

2021Liberty8-5HC: Hugh Freeze · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

14Below cohort / limited sample #258 of 274?

Low confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: qb hurries (24th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Passes defended#481 / 2743 · 78th pct

Sacks#529 / 2743 · 78th pct

2.0

Tackles for loss#592 / 2743 · 77th pct

5.0

Tackles#737 / 2743 · 73rd pct

Solo tackles#1422 / 2743 · 47th pct

QB hurries#1413 / 2743 · 24th pct

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

2021 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home5g	2.6	0.0	0.0	0.4
Road6g	4.8	0.8	0.3	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	4.0	0.4	0.3	0.3
Weeks 8+4g	3.5	0.6	0.0	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Jamey Chadwell

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Impact starter

Tackle volume for the position among the most productive regulars.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

14 · #258 of 274 interior linemen

Three-star recruit. Now #258 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Liberty	45	16	5.0	2.0	3	--	--
2020	Liberty	33	13	2.5	1.0	1	--	--
2019	Liberty	19	7	1.5	0.0	--	--	--
Career		97	36	9.0	3.0	4	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 5 · 2021

W 36–12

at UAB

1 PD · 1 SOLO · 2 TOT

Dominant 24-point win on the road against UAB.

With M. Willis — 287 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 96.7 · 144 rush yds (15 car) · 2 TD · M. Morgan — 42 AVG · 3 IN 20 · 48 LONG

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 48-7vs Campbell	2	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	W 21-13@ Troy	3	0	0.5	0.5	—	0
Wk 3	W 45-17vs Old Dominion	4	1	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 4	L 21-24@ Syracuse	2	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	W 36-12@ UAB	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 6	W 41-13vs Middle Tennessee	3	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	L 28-31@ UL Monroe	12	3	2.0	1.5	—	0	Season-high 12 tackles
Wk 8	W 35-26@ North Texas	5	4	1.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 9	W 62-17vs Massachusetts	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 10	L 14-27@ Ole Miss	5	2	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	L 16-31vs Army	4	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Total		42	15	5.0	2.0	—	3

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology