Former defensive back at Georgia Southern. 2024: 1 interception, 28 tackles.
5′9″ · 180 lb · Atlanta, GA
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The story
Former defensive back at Georgia Southern. 2024: 1 interception, 28 tackles.
The record fills in as he plays.
His career, year by yearTJ Smith
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Across five seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Chris Klieman and Clay Helton. The receipt: 9 tackles against Nevada — Week 2, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at Georgia Southern, 147 tackles — his college career is complete.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Chad Lunsford, Kevin Whitley, and Clay Helton. Multi-era developmental context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: passes defended (19th percentile).
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 · Per-game
2024 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 6.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Clay Helton
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2024
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Georgia Southern | 28 | 17 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Georgia Southern | 54 | 36 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 | -- |
| 2022 | Kansas State | 19 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Kansas State | 39 | 29 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 | -- |
| 2020 | Kansas State | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 147 | 102 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 6 | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 6 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 45-56vs Boise State | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 20-17@ Nevada | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 42-14vs South Carolina State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 13-52@ Ole Miss | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 38-21@ Georgia State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 24-23vs Marshall | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 17 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Eric Sutton’s 2021 season.
Matches Eric on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Woodi Washington's graduate season at Oklahoma (2024).
Matches Woodi on
Differs from Woodi on
Player DNA