Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 3 | 1078th / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 0 | — |
| Run stops | 2 | 2473rd / 3422 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| Pass breakups | 3 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 9 | — |
Charting
Where McKinney'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
5 seasons at 3 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 |  Notre Dame#1 · 7-1 | 7 | 56% | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2025 |  Colorado#86 · 3-9 | 9 | 53% | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 2024 | Colorado#33 · 9-4 | 13 | 84% | 61 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| 2023 |  Oklahoma State#43 · 10-4 | 12 | 50% | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 * | Oklahoma State#48 · 7-6 | 1 | 0% | 1 | — | — | 0 | — | 0 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. DJ McKinney's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded. * Defense rebuilt from the play-by-play (ESPN's box scores that season are missing it); about 10% below official totals.
Game Log
DJ McKinney'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 | vs Wisconsin | W 41–13 | 9.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 |  Rice | W 52–0 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 3 |  Michigan State | W 27–10 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 4 | @ Purdue | W 49–10 | 6.1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 5 | @ North Carolina | W 37–26 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 |  Stanford | W 58–7 | 5.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 7 | @ BYU | L 24–28 | 5.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 9 | vs Navy | W 35–13 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 2026 · 7 games | 5.2 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 9 | 2481st / 5664 |
| Solo | 6 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 1 | 1566th / 2634 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| QB hurries | 0 | — |
| Passes defended | 2 | 471st / 1772 |
| Defensive TD | 1 | — |
| Interceptions | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Interceptions | 1 | 145th / 627 |
| Return yards | 55 | — |
| Pick-sixes | 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 | Special teams | Penalties | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Wisconsin | ✓ CB | 61 | ~57 (23–60) | 2 | 1 | · | 93% |
| Wk 2 · Rice | ✓ CB | 46 | ~7 (0–22) | 1 | · | · | 15% |
| Wk 3 · Michigan State | ✓ CB | 46 | ~16 (0–26) | 1 | · | · | 35% |
| Wk 4 · Purdue | ✓ CB | 68 | ~61 (25–64) | 3 | · | · | 90% |
| Wk 5 · North Carolina | — | 51 | ~15 (0–25) | 1 | · | · | 29% |
| Wk 6 · Stanford | — | 44 | ~44 (18–44) | 2 | · | 1 | 100% |
| Wk 7 · BYU | ✓ CB | 67 | ~48 (19–51) | 2 | · | · | 72% |
| Season | 5 GS | 439 | 248 (109–271) | 12 | 1 | 1 | 56% |
Position Room
16 DBs on the Notre Dame roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Luke Talich | S | SR | 37 | 4.5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | Adon Shuler | S | SR | 33 | 2.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Leonard Moore | CB | JR | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 |
| 29 | Christian Gray | CB | SR | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 12 | Jayden Sanders | CB | SO | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 20 | Joey O'Brien | S | FR | 11 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 |
| 2 | DJ McKinney | CB | SR | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Ethan Long | S | SO | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Mark Zackery IV | CB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 25 | Brandon Logan | S | SO | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1 | Dallas Golden | CB | SO | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 13 | Ayden Pouncey | CB | FR | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 9 | Brauntae Johnson | S | JR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 21 | Khary Adams | CB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Chaz Smith | CB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Nick Reddish | CB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
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. Notre Dame depth chart →