Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 53-20vs Portland State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 10-28@ UCLA | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#16
Jelani Whitmore
Senior cornerback on San Diego State's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 185 lb · Rialto, CA · Carter High
Returning to San Diego State for 2026
Recruiting
3★
CB recruit
No. 2992 nationally · Signed with San Diego State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 cornerback on San Diego State's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to San Diego State in 2020.
Jelani Whitmore
Reads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away. He has spent two seasons in the San Diego State secondary. The receipt: 3 tackles against Portland State — Week 1, 2026.
5 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
2020
- Signed with San Diego State3-star out of Wilmer Amina Carter
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
San Diego State
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Sean Lewis — 4-10 over that span.
2024San Diego State3-9HC: Sean Lewis · Run-leaning
2026San Diego State1-1HC: Sean Lewis · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 splits
Through 2 games: 2.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Sean Lewis
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2024
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San Diego State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | San Diego State | 10 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 15 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 53–20
3 TOT · 1 SOLO
Dominant 33-point win at home against Portland State.
With J. Hawkins — 1 TD · 47 AVG · 100 LONG · J. Denegal — 137 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · 21 rush yds (3 car)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Reads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
San Diego State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Cornerback · San Diego State
Returning around him
- 1 San Diego State player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +0 net (26 in / 26 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
San Diego State · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #89 · 2026 recruiting class #83
DNA match
Player DNA
Ball Hawk
Reads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away.
CB
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Jevon McIver Jr.’s 2024 season.
83%match
Matches Jevon on
Class year
Height
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Preston Hodge's freshman season at Liberty (2022).
83%match
Matches Preston on
Class year
PD rate
Tackle volume
Player DNA
Players who play like Jelani Whitmore
The secondary · San Diego State
- #30Jalen Thomeson86 tackles · 2025
- #9Dalesean Staley70 tackles · 2025
- #6Eric Butler39 tackles · 2025
- #24Josiah Cox15 tackles · 2025
- #16Jelani Whitmore2 games · 2026
22 more on the roster · San Diego State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology