Senior defensive lineman for San José State. 2026: 2 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, 12 tackles.
6′2″ · 250 lb · San Diego, CA · St. Augustine HS
How he plays
Disrupts the pocket from the interior.
QB hurries: 100th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
sacks · 2026 · through week 3
Best game: 1 sacks, 2 TFL, 5 tackles, vs Fresno State
Swing playSwung San José State from 43% to 64% to win.San José State at New Mexico · 52-24
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior defensive lineman for San José State. 2026: 2 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, 12 tackles.
Justin Stearns
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Justin Stearns has been at San José State through two head coaches in four seasons. The receipt: 5 tackles, 2 TFL against Fresno State — Week 3, 2026.
12 TACKLES · 2 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Brent Brennan → Ken Niumatalolo. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San José State | 12 | 5 | 3.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | San José State | 25 | 8 | 2.5 | 0.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | San José State | 28 | 12 | 3.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | San José State | 8 | 6 | 3.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 73 | 31 | 12.5 | 4.5 | -- | -- | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 4 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 26-42@ USC | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 27-21@ Eastern Michigan | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 30-20vs Cal Poly | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-26vs Fresno State | 5 | 3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Total | 12 | 5 | 3.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 30–20
vs Cal Poly
Since week 2: +1 sack, +2 tackles for loss, +5 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: qb hurries (100th percentile). Strength: sacks (96th percentile). Concern: solo tackles (21st percentile).
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.
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
29%4 TFLSack rate
17%2 sacksHurry rate
50%6 hurries12 tackles · 4 for loss · 2 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ken Niumatalolo
Pass share
51.8%
144 pass / 134 run
Plays / game
69.5
4 games
Team sack rate
4.5%
155 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
The No. 1,470 recruit in the country is starting on the defensive line in the Mountain West as a senior.
Player DNA
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Blaine Spires’s 2023 season.
Matches Blaine on
Differs from Blaine on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to RJ Oben's senior season at Duke (2022).
Matches RJ on
Differs from RJ on
9 more on the roster · San José State team page