Junior safety on Vanderbilt's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 210 lb · Atlanta, GA · Woodward Academy
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
S recruit
No. 705 nationally · Signed with Florida Atlantic
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior safety on Vanderbilt's 2026 roster.
How he projects
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line.
Grades highest in play recognition and speed.
The full scouting readBuzz vs Tape
The rival fanbase is unexpectedly warm on him relative to his own.
C.J. Heard
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Across three seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Chad Lunsford and Clark Lea. The receipt: 8 tackles against NC State — Week 3, 2026.
22 TACKLES · 2 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Clark Lea.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Vanderbilt | 22 | 14 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Vanderbilt | 71 | 46 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Florida Atlantic | 74 | 49 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 167 | 109 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 5 | 1 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-9vs Austin Peay | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-26vs Delaware | 8 | 5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 35-31vs NC State | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 14 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 35–31
vs NC State
Since week 2: +8 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: sacks (96th percentile). Strength: solo tackles (93rd 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.
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%1 pass breakupsTackle volume
22tackles this seasonTFL rate
9%2 TFL22 tackles · 2 for loss · 2 sacks · 1 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 7.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 7.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Clark Lea
Pass share
48.4%
90 pass / 96 run
Plays / game
62.0
3 games
Team sack rate
2.1%
95 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #5 of 28 SEC Ss
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.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Tevin Shaw’s 2016 season.
Matches Tevin on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Marcus Williams's junior season at Rice (2023).
Matches Marcus on
Player DNA
18 more on the roster · Vanderbilt team page