Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 20-13vs Liberty | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 87-3vs Wagner | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#88
Kells Bush
5th-year defensive lineman on James Madison's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 305 lb · New Orleans, LA · Edna Karr
Returning to James Madison for 2026
The numbers
0
sacks · 2026
1 TFL · 4 tackles
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 1 TFL, 1 tackles, vs Wagner
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman on James Madison's 2026 roster.
- Transferred from Louisiana Tech to James Madison in 2025.
Kells Bush
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move. Across four seasons and two programs, three head coaches: Sonny Cumbie, Bob Chesney and Billy Napier. The receipt on tape: 3 tackles against Liberty, Week 1, 2026.
4 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2023
- Entered the portal
20255 games
The role got bigger.
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coaches2023
Damian Wroblewski
James Madison
2024–2025era →
Bob Chesney
James Madison
Played under 3 different head coaches: Damian Wroblewski, Bob Chesney, and Billy Napier. Multi-era developmental context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023Louisiana Tech3-9HC: Sonny Cumbie · Balanced
2024Louisiana Tech5-8HC: Sonny Cumbie · Run-leaning
2025James Madison12-2HC: Bob Chesney · Run-heavy
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: 2.0 TKL/g, 0.5 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 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 · 2024
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | James Madison | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Louisiana Tech | 11 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Louisiana Tech | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 23 | 9 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 87–3
vs Wagner
Game log
How he plays
Play style
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
James Madison
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · James Madison
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +6 net (37 in / 31 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
James Madison · Last season: 12-2 (AP #19) · Talent rank #101 · 2026 recruiting class #80
DNA match
Player DNA
Nose Anchor
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
IDL
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Caden Haws’s 2020 season.
Matches Caden on
Sack rate
TFL rate
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Cameron Roetherford's sophomore season at Cincinnati (2024).
89%match
Matches Cameron on
Class year
Height
Hurry rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Kells Bush
Background
2025: Played in eight games Had seven tackles (three solo) Season-high three tackles vs. Weber State (Aug. 30) 2024 at Louisiana Tech: Played in 12 games Had 11 tackles (three solo) LT career-high four tackles vs. Jacksonville State (Nov. 9) Also made pair of tackles in two other games 2023 at Lo...
The defensive line · James Madison
- #8Amar Thomas6.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #93Mychal Mcmullin2.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #88Kells Bush0 tackles for loss · 2025
- #10Chukwunedu Okeke0 tackles for loss · 2025
- #98Turner Schmidt0 tackles for loss · 2025
12 more on the roster · James Madison team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology