Georgia State · W 49-22
No tackles.
Willis has tackles in 8 of James Madison’s 9 games: none against Georgia State.
Ken Willis
Gets targeted often and tackles in space. Played for three head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Scott Satterfield, Bob Chesney and Billy Napier. A game that shows it: 7 tackles and 2 tackles for loss against San Diego State — Week 3, 2026.
30 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Targeted often and asked to tackle in space on the perimeter.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
30 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 30 | 21 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | James Madison | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Cincinnati | 7 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Cincinnati | 23 | 12 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | 2 |
| Career | 66 | 44 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 5 | 3 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 tackle.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 20-13vs Liberty | 7 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 87-3vs Wagner | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 26-13@ San Diego State | 7 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 46-20@ Old Dominion | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 45-17vs Marshall | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-24@ Georgia Southern | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 31-34@ App State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 9 | L 21-24vs Troy | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 21 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 |
Oct. 22 · L 31-34 at App State, play by play
2 tackles, including 2 passes broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 7 games with play by play.
How James Madison’s defense played that day
App State’s 15 drives: 8 stopped · 7 scored. While the game was within a score they held 8 of 14. His pbu came with James Madison up 7.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 interception. His interception ended Georgia Southern’s drive (int).
Intercepted. First quarter, down 7-0. Ended Georgia Southern’s drive (int).
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles, including 2 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 7, sacks included.
7 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 2 · 2026
W 87-3
vs Wagner
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 7 tackles
Dominant 84-point win at home against Wagner.
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +8 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
13%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
30tackles this season30 tackles · 5 for loss · 1 sack · 4 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 3.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Billy Napier
Pass share
45.5%
283 pass / 339 run
Plays / game
69.1
9 games
Team sack rate
3.3%
306 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #49 at the position.
The No. 1,307 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Sun Belt.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 25 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Luke Fickell, Scott Satterfield, Bob Chesney and Billy Napier.
Sun Belt Conference
