6′3″ · 205 lb · Manhattan, KS
He has 3 quarterback hurries, tied for 5th among FBS defensive backs.
“Ben Congdon giving JJ Dunnigan a run for his money as most impactful freshman so far”
3 stories in the last 30 days, from 2 outlets.
JJ Dunnigan
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. On tape: 8 tackles against Wake Forest, Week 3, 2026.
23 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Miami | 23 | 11 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| Career | 23 | 11 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 7): 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-6@ Stanford | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 77-7vs Florida A&M | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 33-20@ Wake Forest | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 52-3vs Central Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 41-13@ Clemson | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 43-35vs Florida State | 7 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 11 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
Week 7 · 2026
W 43-35
1 tackle for loss · 7 tackles · 3 solo tackles
Edged out Florida State at home in a shootout.
Ratings of the games shown run from -16 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
0%0 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
23tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%1 TFL23 tackles · 1 for loss · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mario Cristobal
Pass share
47.0%
193 pass / 218 run
Plays / game
68.5
6 games
Team sack rate
2.8%
211 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #238 at the position.
from 2 outlets
Miami Hurricanes safety JJ Dunnigan gets his flowers in latest freshman rankings
Canes Warning Oct 9 · 1 outlet
from 6 outlets
‘Freak of nature’ JJ Dunnigan filling void in Hurricanes’ depleted secondary
Sun Sentinel Sep 15 · 1 outlet · 1 fan thread
Sun Sentinel
247Sports
Miami HurricanesEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Oct 24.
Fans first named him at Stanford.
His career
