Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 33-20vs Oregon State | 6 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 77-6vs Southern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#5
Will James
Senior defensive back on Houston's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 185 lb · Grand Bay, AL · Theodore HS
CFB Index 79 · #45 of 364 cornersLow confidenceReturning to Houston for 2026
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.
Recruiting
3★
CB recruit
No. 1622 nationally · Signed with Mississippi State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Houston's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Mississippi State in 2023.
- Transferred from Southern Miss to Houston in 2025.
Will James
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Will James has played for two head coaches across three seasons and two programs. 2025 brought the first one: All-Big 12. The receipt: 6 tackles against Oregon State — Week 1, 2026.
7 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
2023
- Signed with Mississippi State3-star out of Theodore
202411 games
- Entered the portal
202512 games
- Entered the portal
- All-Big 12
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coaches2024
Houston
Coaching transition mid-career: Dana Holgorsen → Willie Fritz. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024Southern Miss1-11HC: Reed Stringer · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025Houston10-3HC: Willie Fritz · Run-leaning
2026Houston2-0HC: Willie Fritz · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Low confidenceReinvented
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: 3.5 TKL/g, 0.0 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
Willie Fritz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Part-time starter
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
79 · #45 of 364 corners
Three-star recruit. Now #45 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #7 of 42 Big 12 DBs
How the All-Big 12 estimate is computed
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Houston | 7 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Houston | 39 | 32 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | -- |
| 2024 | Southern Miss | 35 | 21 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 7 | -- | -- |
| Career | 81 | 60 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 13 | 3 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 77–6
vs Southern
1 TOT · 1 SOLO
Dominant 71-point win at home against Southern.
With K. Henderson — 83 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 23.8 · 54 rush yds (1 car) · 1 TD · C. Weigman — 120 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 48.3 · 6 rush yds (1 car)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Houston
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Houston
Returning around him
- 1 Houston player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +1 net (18 in / 17 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Houston · Last season: 10-3 (AP #25) · Talent rank #57 · 2026 recruiting class #38
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Javion White’s 2025 season.
83%match
All-AAC
Matches Javion on
Class year
PD rate
Tackle volume
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Javion White's sophomore season at Tulane (2025).
Matches Javion on
Class year
PD rate
Weight
Player DNA
Players who play like Will James
Background
As a Sophomore (2025) Started all 13 games at cornerback All-Big 12 Second Team All-Texas Second Team, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football PFF National Team of the Week (Nov. 24) Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 24) Led the Cougars in interceptions (3), turnovers gained (4) and forced fumbles...
The secondary · Houston
- #21Myles Rowser84 tackles · 2025
- #8Kentrell Webb71 tackles · 2025
- #6Jordan Allen48 tackles · 2025
- Javion White44 tackles · 2025
- #5Will James39 tackles · 2025
20 more on the roster · Houston team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology