Jacksonville State · L 24-27
No tackles.
Celestine has tackles in 7 of Florida International’s 8 games: none against Jacksonville State.
Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine
Played for three head coaches across four seasons and two programs. A game that shows it: 7 tackles against Liberty — Week 9, 2026.
29 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Erases the deep middle of the field.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Florida International | 29 | 16 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 5 | -- |
| 2025 | Florida International | 17 | 13 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | Arizona | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Arizona | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 49 | 30 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 7 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 7 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 9-19@ South Florida | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 33-20vs Buffalo | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-16@ Florida Atlantic | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 20-3vs Long Island University | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 22-3vs New Mexico State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 8 | L 23-26vs Middle Tennessee | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-49@ Liberty | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Total | 29 | 16 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 5 |
Oct. 31 · L 10-49 at Liberty, play by play
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 3 passes defended in the 7 games with play by play.
How Florida International’s defense played that day
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
0 tackles.
Not drawn: there is no box score for this game yet.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 1 of his 2, sacks included.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
5 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.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 3, sacks included.
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.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
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
17%5 pass breakupsTackle volume
29tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%2 TFL29 tackles · 1.5 for loss · 5 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 3.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Road3g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 3.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 5.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Willie Simmons
Pass share
50.7%
272 pass / 265 run
Plays / game
67.1
8 games
Team sack rate
3.4%
296 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #197 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Conference USA
Based on 2025: #31 of 43 Conference USA DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 25 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Jedd Fisch, Brent Brennan and Willie Simmons.
