Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 49-7vs Eastern Kentucky | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#25
Vernon Woodward III
Freshman safety on Jacksonville State's 2026 roster.
6′1″ · 200 lb · DeLand, FL · Winter Park HS
Transferred Illinois → Jacksonville State for 2026
Recruiting
3★
CB recruit
No. 947 nationally · Signed with Illinois
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
1 safety on Jacksonville State's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Illinois in 2024.
- Transferred from Illinois to Jacksonville State in 2026.
Vernon Woodward III
Illinois to Jacksonville State — the move that set up everything since. The receipt: 1 tackles against Eastern Kentucky — Week 1, 2026.
1 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- portal record
- game log
His career
2024
- Signed with Illinois3-star out of Winter Park
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Jacksonville State
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Jacksonville State
2025Illinois
2026Jacksonville State
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2026Jacksonville State1-2HC: Charles Kelly · 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 1 game: 1.0 TKL/g, 0.0 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
Charles Kelly
Pass share
43.2%
79 pass / 104 run
Plays / game
61.0
3 games
Team sack rate
4.5%
88 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Jacksonville State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 49–7
1 TOT · 1 SOLO
Dominant 42-point win at home against Eastern Kentucky.
With C. Creel — 327 yds · 5 TD · 1 INT · 54 rush yds (10 car) · J. Williams — -4 rush yds (1 car)
Game log
Background
PRIOR TO JAX STATE: Spent two seasons at Illinois...Consensus three-star recruit out of Winter Park HS...Over his final two years of high school football, recorded over 80 tackles, broke up 10 passes, had two interceptions, forced five fumbles and recovered five fumbles.
The secondary · Jacksonville State
- #1Caleb Nix63 tackles · 2025
- #3Tre'Quon Fegans36 tackles · 2025
- #22Jaheim Jenkins21 tackles · 2025
- #7Marc Woods16 tackles · 2025
- #25Vernon Woodward III1 game · 2026
22 more on the roster · Jacksonville State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology