Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 63-3vs Tennessee State | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#81
Josh Horton
Senior defensive tackle on Georgia's 2026 roster.
6′4″ · 305 lb · Fairburn, GA · Langston Hughes
Returning to Georgia for 2026
The numbers
0
sacks · 2026
1 TFL · 2 tackles
1 game into 2026 so far -- Best game: 1 TFL, 2 tackles, vs Tennessee State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive tackle on Georgia's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Miami in 2022.
Josh Horton
Wins his gap play after play. Across three seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Mario Cristobal and Kirby Smart. One game to point at: 2 tackles, 1 TFL against Tennessee State — Week 1, 2026.
2 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2022
- Signed with Miami4-star out of Oakland
2023
- Signed with Miami4-star out of Langston Hughes
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Georgia
Played his entire career under Kirby Smart.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024Miami10-3HC: Mario Cristobal · Balanced
2025Georgia12-2HC: Kirby Smart · Run-leaning
2026Georgia2-0HC: Kirby Smart · Balanced, slow tempo
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 1 game: 2.0 TKL/g, 1.0 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
Kirby Smart
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 63–3
2 TOT · 1 SOLO · 1 TFL
Dominant 60-point win at home against Tennessee State.
With S. White — 3 rec · 34 yds · G. Stockton — 202 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Georgia
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive tackle · Georgia
Returning around him
- 8 Georgia players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -7 net (9 in / 16 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Georgia · Last season: 12-2 (AP #2) · Talent rank #1 · 2026 recruiting class #6
DNA match
Player DNA
Two-Gap Base
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
IDL
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Brendan Flakes’s 2025 season.
87%match
Matches Brendan on
Class year
Height
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Keith Sampson's sophomore season at Florida State (2024).
Matches Keith on
Class year
Sack rate
Hurry rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Josh Horton
Background
2025: Played in all 14 games during the season as a reserve DL...made 11 tackles, four solo, six quarterback pressures and one pass breakup...had three tackles, two solo against Alabama...made a pair of stops against Kentucky...had game-sealing pass breakup late against Ole Miss...recorded a tack...
The defensive line · Georgia
- #90Elijah Griffin2.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #44Jordan Hall2 tackles for loss · 2025
- #95Nnamdi Ogboko1 tackle for loss · 2025
- #94Xzavier Mcleod0 tackles for loss · 2025
- #81Josh Horton0 tackles for loss · 2025
12 more on the roster · Georgia team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology