Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 5 | 478th / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 4 | 322nd / 2112 |
| Run stops | 8 | 1100th / 3422 |
| Sacks | 2 | — |
| Pass breakups | 1 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 18 | — |
Charting
Where Royster'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 |  James Madison#59 · 7-2 | 9 | 44% | 23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 2024 |  Ball State#125 · 3-9 | 1 | 4% | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | Ball State#112 · 4-8 | 2 | 9% | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Danny Royster's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Game Log
Danny Royster'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 |  Liberty | W 20–13 | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 2 |  Wagner | W 87–3 | 5.3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 3 | @ San Diego State | W 26–13 | 5.9 | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 | @ Old Dominion | W 46–20 | 8.5 | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 5 |  Marshall | W 45–17 | 8.2 | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 6 | @ Georgia Southern | W 27–24 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | · | · |
| 7 |  Georgia State | W 49–22 | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 8 | @ App State | L 31–34 | 6.6 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 9 |  Troy | L 21–24 | 5.8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2026 · 9 games | 6.2 | 23 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | · | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 23 | 1094th / 5664 |
| Solo | 10 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 3 | 596th / 2634 |
| Sacks | 2 | 309th / 1383 |
| QB hurries | 4 | 123rd / 1549 |
| Passes defended | 1 | 898th / 1772 |
| Defensive TD | 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 involved | Plays made | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Liberty | — | 66 | ~39 (15–62) | · | 5 | 59% |
| Wk 2 · Wagner | — | 67 | ~25 (10–39) | · | 2 | 37% |
| Wk 3 · San Diego State | — | 77 | ~35 (14–55) | · | 2 | 45% |
| Wk 4 · Old Dominion | — | 68 | ~42 (21–53) | · | 4 | 62% |
| Wk 5 · Marshall | — | 81 | ~53 (26–67) | · | 6 | 65% |
| Wk 6 · Georgia Southern | ✓ EDGE | 77 | · | · | · | — |
| Wk 7 · Georgia State | — | 66 | ~22 (9–35) | 1 | 1 | 33% |
| Wk 8 · App State | ✓ EDGE | 75 | ~34 (13–54) | · | 2 | 45% |
| Wk 9 · Troy | — | 75 | ~31 (12–49) | · | 2 | 41% |
| Season | 2 GS | 640 | 281 (180–361) | 1 | 24 | 44% |
Position Room
17 DLs on the James Madison roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | Rasheed Lovelace | DL | SR | 24 | 1 | 0.5 | — | 0 |
| 98 | Turner Schmidt | EDGE | JR | 24 | 5 | 2.5 | — | 0 |
| 17 | Danny Royster | EDGE | SR | 23 | 3 | 2 | — | 1 |
| 9 | Kei'Trone Simpson | EDGE | SR | 20 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 1 |
| 8 | Amar Thomas | EDGE | SR | 19 | 3 | 3 | — | 0 |
| 93 | Mychal McMullin | DL | SR | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 5 | Kevin Roberts | DL | JR | 17 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 1 |
| Jakolbi Wilson | DL | 17 | 1.5 | 1 | — | 0 | ||
| 88 | Kells Bush | DL | SR | 14 | 3.5 | 2.5 | — | 1 |
| 0 | Mason Purham | EDGE | SR | 9 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Ernest Willor Jr. | EDGE | 8 | 3 | 2 | — | 1 | ||
| 10 | Chukwunedu Okeke | DL | JR | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Cole Webster | DL | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 51 | Chris Bispham | DL | FR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 44 | Kacey Gilliam | EDGE | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 90 | Cory Simon | EDGE | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 92 | Grayson Gilmore | EDGE | 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. James Madison depth chart →