D.J. James

Senior cornerback for Auburn. 2023: 2 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, 38 tackles.

CB · Auburn · Sr. · #4

6′1″ · 164 lb · Mobile, AL

CFB Index 72 · #68 of 339 cornersLow confidenceAuburn 2023 alumnus

The story

4 cornerback for Auburn. 2023: 2 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, 38 tackles.

The record fills in as he plays.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Two seasons at Auburn, 75 tackles — his college career is complete.

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

Auburn

2022–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2022–2023

2 coaches

2022

Cadillac Williams

Auburn

2023

Hugh Freeze

Auburn

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Cadillac Williams → Hugh Freeze. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2022Auburn5-7HC: Cadillac Williams · Run-heavy

2023Auburn6-7HC: Hugh Freeze · Run-heavy

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

72Quality starter #68 of 339?

Low confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (98th percentile). Strength: solo tackles (81st percentile). Concern: sacks (24th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Passes defended#44 / 2842 · 98th pct

Solo tackles#523 / 2842 · 81st pct

Interceptions#148 / 827 · 72nd pct

Tackles#944 / 2842 · 66th pct

Tackles for loss#904 / 2842 · 66th pct

3.5

QB hurries#1486 / 2842 · 24th pct

Sacks#1503 / 2842 · 24th pct

0.0

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

2023 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	2.7	0.3	0.0	0.7
Road5g	4.4	0.3	0.0	1.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-75g	3.6	0.5	0.0	0.2
Weeks 8+6g	3.3	0.2	0.0	1.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Alex Golesh

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Part-time starter

Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

72 · #68 of 339 corners

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Auburn	38	30	3.5	9	2	--
2022	Auburn	37	25	1.0	8	1	--
Career		75	55	4.5	17	3	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2023

W 45–13

vs Samford

4 TOT · 4 SOLO · 1 TFL

Dominant 32-point win at home against Samford.

With P. Thorne — 282 yds · 1 TD · 2 INT · QBR 79.9 · 123 rush yds (11 car) · 2 TD · R. Ashford — 58 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 97.5 · 17 rush yds (2 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	INT	PD	Note
Wk 2	W 14-10@ California	5	5	0.0	1	0
Wk 3	W 45-13vs Samford	4	4	1.0	—	1
Wk 4	L 10-27@ Texas A&M	2	1	0.5	—	0
Wk 5	L 20-27vs Georgia	1	1	1.0	—	0
Wk 7	L 18-48@ LSU	6	2	0.0	1	0
Wk 8	L 21-28vs Ole Miss	3	2	0.0	—	0
Wk 9	W 27-13vs Mississippi State	1	1	0.0	—	0
Wk 10	W 31-15@ Vanderbilt	7	7	1.0	—	2	Season-high 7 tackles
Wk 11	W 48-10@ Arkansas	2	2	0.0	—	3
Wk 12	L 10-31vs New Mexico State	3	3	0.0	—	1
Wk 13	L 24-27vs Alabama	4	2	0.0	—	2
Total		38	30	3.5	2	9

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

D.J. James

2023 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Part-time starter

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Cover Corner

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