James Williams: S · Miami · #20.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
James Williams
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches at Miami: Jess Simpson and Mario Cristobal. The first one came in 2021: ACC Defensive Back Player of the Week. On tape: 13 tackles against Virginia, Week 9, 2023.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
72 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 0.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-3vs Miami (OH) | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-33vs No. 23 Texas A&M | 9 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-7vs Bethune-Cookman | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 41-7@ Temple | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 20-23vs Georgia Tech | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 31-41@ No. 12 North Carolina | 8 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 28-20vs Clemson | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 29-26vs Virginia | 13 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 10 | L 6-20@ NC State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 20-27@ No. 4 Florida State | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 31-38vs No. 9 Louisville | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 45-20@ Boston College | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 72 | 48 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
6%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
72tackles this seasonTFL rate
1%0 TFL72 tackles · 0.5 for loss · 4 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 6.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 5.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 7.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mario Cristobal
Pass share
49.9%
435 pass / 437 run
Plays / game
67.1
13 games
Team sack rate
3.7%
458 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2023
72 tackles in 12 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former five-star. Now #156 at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Miami, 162 tackles — drafted at #242 overall by the Tennessee Titans.
Honored in a first season.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Manny Diaz → Mario Cristobal. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Next stop · NFL
Tennessee TitansEntering 3rd NFL season
Tennessee TitansEntering 3rd NFL season
