Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 20-13vs Liberty | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 87-3vs Wagner | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#6
DJ Kelly
2nd-year cornerback on James Madison's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 185 lb · Allentown, PA · St. Frances Academy [MD]
Transferred Toledo → James Madison for 2026
Recruiting
3★
CB recruit
No. 1671 nationally · Signed with Toledo
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2 cornerback on James Madison's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Toledo in 2025.
- Transferred from Toledo to James Madison in 2026.
DJ Kelly
Doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play. Two head coaches in two seasons, at two different programs. The receipt: 5 tackles against Liberty — Week 1, 2026.
6 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
20256 games
- Signed with Toledo3-star out of St. Frances Academy
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coaches2025
Bob Chesney
James Madison
Coaching transition mid-career: Bob Chesney → Billy Napier. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to James Madison
2025Toledo
2026James Madison
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2025Toledo8-5HC: Robert Weiner · Run-leaning
2026James Madison2-0HC: Billy Napier · 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 2 games: 3.0 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
Billy Napier
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Toledo | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 16 | 11 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 87–3
vs Wagner
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Cover Corner
Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
CB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Isaiah Johnson’s 2022 season.
89%match
Matches Isaiah on
Class year
Weight
PD rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Jordan Elie-Stuart's freshman season at Air Force (2025).
100%match
Matches Jordan on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Background
2025 at Toledo: Played in all 13 games with one start at cornerback Had 10 tackles (6 solo) to go with 1.0 tackle for loss, 1.0 sack, one interception and one pass breakup Made three tackles with first career interception vs. Ball State (Nov. 22) Had two stops with first career sack and PBU at Mi...
The secondary · James Madison
- #7Javis Mynatt30 tackles · 2025
- #16TJ McGill12 tackles · 2025
- #6DJ Kelly10 tackles · 2025
- #22Chase Regan6 tackles · 2025
- #23Ken Willis6 tackles · 2025
17 more on the roster · James Madison team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology