Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 20-13vs Liberty | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 87-3vs Wagner | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#42
JT Kouame-Yao
5th-year linebacker for James Madison. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
6′0″ · 220 lb · Centreville, VA · Westfield
In transfer portal — destination TBD (from James Madison)
The numbers
3
tackles · 2026
0.5 TFL
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 2 tackles, 0.5 TFL, vs Wagner
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 linebacker for James Madison. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
His career, year by yearJT Kouame-Yao
He got to James Madison by way of Shepherd. One game to point at: 2 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Wagner — Week 2, 2026.
3 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- portal record
- game log
His career
2025
- Entered the portal
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
James Madison
NFL
NFL Draft
—
In Portal · 2026
In transfer portal
2025James Madison
DestinationTBD
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2026James Madison2-0HC: Billy Napier · Run-leaning, 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 2 games: 1.5 TKL/g, 0.2 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
Billy Napier
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 3 | -- | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 3 | -- | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 87–3
vs Wagner
Game log
Background
2025: Played in two games JMU Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete (Fall 2025, Spring 2026) 2024 at Shepherd: First Team All-PSAC East linebacker PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week once Played in 10 games, making nine starts at linebacker Had 62 tackles (34 solo) to go with 11.5 tackles for lo...
The linebacker corps · James Madison
- #2Nakian Jackson51 tackles · 2025
- #3Gannon Weathersby50 tackles · 2025
- #26Jayden Studio8 tackles · 2025
- #45Lee Johnson2 tackles · 2025
- #42JT Kouame-Yao2 games · 2026
3 more on the roster · James Madison team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology