#47

James Skalski

Senior linebacker for Clemson. 2021: 87 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks.

LB · Clemson · Sr. · #47

6′0″ · 240 lb · Sharpsburg, GA

CFB Index 78 · #67 of 578 LBsHigh confidenceAll-Conf 1st teamClemson 2021 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

OLB recruit

No. 676 nationally · Signed with Clemson

Statement game16 tacklesat Pittsburgh (FBS) · L 17-27

Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.

If Skalski had been one of the people making that tackle, they would have taken him out of the stadium in cuffs lolr/CFB game thread · ▲ 22His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 linebacker for Clemson. 2021: 87 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Clemson in 2016.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Six seasons at Clemson, 258 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2021) — his college career is complete.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

20167 games

Signed with Clemson3-star out of Northgate

20208 games

All-ACCsecond

202112 games

All-ACCfirst

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#676 national

CFB

College

Clemson

2016–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

4 honors · 1 category

🥈

ALL-ACC · 1ST TEAM

All-ACC 1st team (2021)

Coaching lineage · 2016–2021

1 coach

2016–2021

Dabo Swinney

Clemson

Played his entire career under Dabo Swinney.

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

6 seasons under Dabo Swinney — 75-9 over that span.

2016Clemson14-1HC: Dabo Swinney · Balanced, fast tempo

2017Clemson12-2HC: Dabo Swinney · Run-leaning

2018Clemson15-0HC: Dabo Swinney · Balanced

2019Clemson14-1HC: Dabo Swinney · Balanced

2020Clemson10-2HC: Dabo Swinney · Balanced, fast tempo

2021Clemson10-3HC: Dabo Swinney · Pass-leaning, fast tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

78All-Conference level #67 of 578?

High confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (99th percentile). Strength: tackles (95th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

QB hurries#31 / 2743 · 99th pct

Tackles#125 / 2743 · 95th pct

Solo tackles#277 / 2743 · 89th pct

Passes defended#310 / 2743 · 86th pct

Sacks#443 / 2743 · 82nd pct

2.5

Tackles for loss#688 / 2743 · 73rd pct

4.5

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 · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	6.4	0.4	0.1	0.4
Road5g	8.0	0.4	0.3	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	7.0	0.2	0.1	0.5
Weeks 8+6g	7.2	0.5	0.3	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Dabo Swinney

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

Awards

Player standing · 2021

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

78 · #67 of 578 LBs

Three-star recruit. Now #67 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Clemson	87	40	4.5	2.5	4	--	--
2020	Clemson	34	22	3.0	1.0	2	--	--
2019	Clemson	90	45	6.5	3.5	3	--	--
2018	Clemson	3	1	1.0	0.0	--	--	--
2017	Clemson	31	16	2.0	0.5	--	--	--
2016	Clemson	13	7	2.0	1.0	--	--	--
Career		258	131	19.0	8.5	9	--	--

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	L 3-10vs Georgia	14	8	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	W 49-3vs South Carolina State	3	1	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	W 14-8vs Georgia Tech	9	4	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 4	L 21-27@ NC State	4	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	W 19-13vs Boston College	6	2	0.0	0.0	—	2
Wk 7	W 17-14@ Syracuse	6	4	0.5	0.5	—	0
Wk 8	L 17-27@ Pittsburgh	16	6	0.0	0.0	—	0	Season-high 16 tackles
Wk 9	W 30-20vs Florida State	5	3	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 10	W 30-24@ Louisville	8	6	1.5	1.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 44-7vs UConn	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 12	W 48-27vs Wake Forest	5	3	1.5	1.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 30-0@ South Carolina	6	1	0.0	0.0	—	1
Total		85	40	4.5	2.5	—	4

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