Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-14vs Murray State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 26-28@ Marshall | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 27-20vs Nevada | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#11
James Johnson
Sophomore safety on Middle Tennessee's 2026 roster.
5′10″ · 200 lb · Douglasville, GA · Douglas County
Transferred USC → Middle Tennessee for 2026
Recruiting
3★
ATH recruit
No. 1325 nationally · Signed with USC
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Sophomore safety on Middle Tennessee's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to USC in 2025.
- Transferred from USC to Middle Tennessee in 2026.
James Johnson
Two head coaches in two seasons, at two different programs. The receipt: 4 tackles against Nevada — Week 3, 2026.
9 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2025
- Signed with USC3-star out of Douglas County
20263 games
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Middle Tennessee
2025USC
2026Middle Tennessee
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Middle Tennessee | 9 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | USC | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 9 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log
Game by game
James Johnson's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 38–14
vs Murray State
4 tackles · 3 solo tackles
Dominant 24-point win at home against Murray State.
With R. Gagliano — 200 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · 25 rush yds (2 car) · 1 TD · C. Lacy — 8 rec · 118 yds · 1 TD
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +4 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
2025USC9-4HC: Lincoln Riley · Balanced
2026Middle Tennessee2-1HC: Derek Mason · Pass-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
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Derek Mason
Pass share
58.0%
102 pass / 74 run
Plays / game
58.7
3 games
Team sack rate
1.9%
108 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning, slow tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Background
2025 (Freshman at USC) • Played in five games • Finished with five receptions High School • Rated as the No. 44 player in the state of Georgia by ESPN, No. 72 by On3 and No 125 by 247Sports • Touted as the No. 53 wide receiver in the nation by ESPN, No. 93 by On3 and No. 98 by 247Sports • As a…
The secondary · Middle Tennessee
- Kalen Woods36 tackles · 2025
- #2Jackson Lowe36 tackles · 2025
- #7Christofer Noble22 tackles · 2025
- #15Devan Carlisle10 tackles · 2025
- #11James Johnson3 games · 2026
17 more on the roster · Middle Tennessee team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology