DJ Barksdale
DJ Barksdale
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. DJ Barksdale has played for two head coaches in three seasons at James Madison. His first career honor landed in 2025: All-Sun Belt. One game to point at: 4 tackles against Marshall — Week 11, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Sun Belt
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Damian Wroblewski → Bob Chesney. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Billy Napier
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 3 · RecognizedR09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
All-Conference HM / 2nd team. Conference recognition has started.
Recognition
Production
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Sun Belt
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | James Madison | 36 | 22 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | James Madison | 42 | 27 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | James Madison | 15 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 93 | 56 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 14 | 4 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 8 · 2025
W 63–27
vs Old Dominion
3 TOT
Dominant 36-point win at home against Old Dominion.
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
James Madison
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · James Madison
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +7 net (37 in / 30 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
James Madison · Last season: 12-2 (AP #19) · Talent rank #127 · 2026 recruiting class #80
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jadon Canady’s 2024 season.
Matches Jadon on
Differs from Jadon on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Kris Abrams-Draine's junior season at Missouri (2022).
Matches Kris on
Differs from Kris on