Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 7 | 93rd / 2573 |
| Tackles for loss | 7 | 33rd / 1909 |
| Run stops | 11 | 453rd / 3262 |
| Sacks | 3 | — |
| Pass breakups | 0 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 16 | — |
Charting
Where James's plays went: throw and catch spots, air yards and yards after the catch, read from the play-by-play
The play-by-play names the defender on breakups, interceptions and tackles, but not the man in coverage on every throw, so true times-targeted isn't in the text. Coverage plays is the closest stand-in; exact targets come from hand charting.
Career
4 seasons at 2 schools since 2014 · box-score totals, snap share estimated from play-by-play
| Season | Team | G | Snaps | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD | Havoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far |  Pittsburgh#42 · 5-2 | 7 | 43% | 18 | 7 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2025 | Pittsburgh#31 · 8-5 | 12 | 34% | 22 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| 2024 | Pittsburgh#64 · 7-6 | 11 | 31% | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2023 |  Indiana#92 · 3-9 | 3 | 9% | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Nick James's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Game Log
Nick James's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 |  Miami (OH) | W 59–14 | 6.8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 2 |  UCF | W 12–7 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 3 |  Syracuse | W 27–13 | 7.9 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 |  Bucknell | W 59–0 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 5 | @ Virginia Tech | W 35–33 | 9.1 | 5 | 4 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 |  North Carolina | L 17–21 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 7 | @ Boston College | L 21–27 | 7.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2026 · 5 games | 7.6 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 1.5 | 2 | 0 | · | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 18 | 1097th / 5406 |
| Solo | 10 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 7 | 40th / 2447 |
| Sacks | 2.5 | 149th / 1212 |
| QB hurries | 2 | 301st / 1377 |
| Passes defended | 0 | — |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
| Fumbles | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Fumbles | 0 | — |
| Lost | 0 | — |
| Recovered | 1 | — |
Snaps by Game
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Start | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Miami (OH) | ✓ DL | 58 | ~27 (11–43) | 2 | 47% |
| Wk 2 · UCF | ✓ DL | 71 | · | · | — |
| Wk 3 · Syracuse | ✓ DL | 70 | ~43 (21–54) | 3 | 61% |
| Wk 4 · Bucknell | ✓ DL | 82 | · | · | — |
| Wk 5 · Virginia Tech | ✓ DL | 73 | ~42 (21–53) | 5 | 58% |
| Wk 6 · North Carolina | — | 51 | ~31 (12–49) | 3 | 61% |
| Wk 7 · Boston College | ✓ DL | 67 | ~41 (20–52) | 3 | 61% |
| Season | 6 GS | 425 | 184 (105–237) | 16 | 43% |
Position Room
19 DLs on the Pittsburgh roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | Sean FitzSimmons | DL | SR | 22 | 2 | 2 | — | 0 |
| 2 | Isaiah Neal | DL | SR | 19 | 3 | 1.5 | — | 1 |
| 11 | Nick James | DL | SR | 18 | 7 | 2.5 | — | 0 |
| 8 | Jaeden Moore | DL | SR | 12 | 4.5 | 2 | — | 0 |
| 5 | Zach Crothers | DL | JR | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 |
| 44 | Jimmy Scott | DL | SR | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 |
| 16 | Eliyt Nairne | DL | SR | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 |
| 50 | Denim Cook | DL | SO | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 20 | Josh Pittman | DL | FR | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 |
| 76 | Lincoln Hoke | DL | FR | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Jeremiah Warren | DL | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 35 | JuJu Anderson | DL | SO | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 58 | Reston Lehman | DL | FR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Ty Yuhas | DL | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 40 | Ty Millhimes | DL | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 53 | Charlie Donehue | DL | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 66 | Ben Kauffman | DL | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 77 | Dylan Pitzer | DL | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 90 | Trevor Sommers | DL | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Pittsburgh depth chart →