Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 7 | 214th / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 3 | 519th / 2112 |
| Run stops | 15 | 379th / 3422 |
| Sacks | 2 | — |
| Pass breakups | 4 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 53 | — |
Charting
Where Heard'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
3 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 |  Vanderbilt#64 · 3-5 | 8 | 99% | 62 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 2025 | Vanderbilt#11 · 10-3 | 13 | 74% | 71 | 3.5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2024 |  Florida Atlantic#117 · 3-9 | 12 | 94% | 80 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. CJ Heard's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Game Log
CJ Heard'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 |  Austin Peay | W 28–9 | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 2 |  Delaware | W 35–26 | 9.1 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 3 |  NC State | W 35–31 | 6.6 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 | @ Auburn | L 15–21 | 7.7 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 5 | @ Georgia | L 14–38 | 8.7 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 6 |  Ole Miss | L 17–52 | 9.2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | · |
| 7 |  Arkansas | L 21–31 | 6.6 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 8 | @ Kentucky | L 17–34 | 7.6 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 2026 · 8 games | 7.7 | 61 | 43 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 62 | 69th / 5664 |
| Solo | 43 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 4 | 366th / 2634 |
| Sacks | 3 | 147th / 1383 |
| QB hurries | 1 | 780th / 1549 |
| Passes defended | 6 | 42nd / 1772 |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
| Interceptions | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Interceptions | 1 | 145th / 627 |
| Return yards | 0 | — |
| Pick-sixes | 0 | — |
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 | Penalties | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Austin Peay | ✓ S | 46 | ~46 (19–46) | 6 | · | 100% |
| Wk 2 · Delaware | ✓ S | 68 | ~67 (27–68) | 8 | 1 | 99% |
| Wk 3 · NC State | ✓ S | 78 | ~77 (31–78) | 9 | · | 99% |
| Wk 4 · Auburn | ✓ S | 58 | ~58 (23–58) | 9 | 1 | 100% |
| Wk 5 · Georgia | ✓ S | 66 | ~66 (27–66) | 10 | · | 100% |
| Wk 6 · Ole Miss | — | 65 | ~63 (25–65) | 6 | · | 97% |
| Wk 7 · Arkansas | ✓ S | 73 | ~73 (29–73) | 9 | · | 100% |
| Wk 8 · Kentucky | — | 65 | ~65 (26–65) | 10 | · | 100% |
| Season | 6 GS | 519 | 515 (390–519) | 67 | 2 | 99% |
Position Room
21 DBs on the Vanderbilt roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | CJ Heard | S | JR | 62 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | Ricardo Jones | S | JR | 36 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 |
| 25 | Mason Lewis | S | FR | 33 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 |
| 21 | Davin Chandler | S | SO | 22 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 2 |
| 26 | Cayden Daniels | CB | SO | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Martel Hight | CB | SR | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Jordan Matthews | CB | SR | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 9 | Jalen Gilbert | S | SR | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 3 | Carson Lawrence | S | SO | 6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 |
| 1 | Dontae Carter | S | JR | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 12 | Vanzale Hinton | S | SO | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 14 | Jailen Ruth | S | JR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 0 | Cobey Sellers | CB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Jaylin Lackey | CB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Jaylin Davies | CB | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Bradley Brown | S | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Thomas Jones | S | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Jeremy Garner II | CB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Payne Daniel | S | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Blaine McClure | CB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 46 | Mustafa Dannett | CB | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
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. Vanderbilt depth chart →