Linebacker, Memphis, 2017–21
J.J. Russell
- Number
- No. 23
- Height
- 6′1″
- Weight
- 225 lb
- Class (2021)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Grenada, MS
- Born
- Oct 12, 1998
J.J. Russell played linebacker at Memphis (2017–21).
Career highs
18tackles, career highvs. UTSA, 2021Team titles: American champions, 2019
Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Memphis | 23 | LB | Yr 1 | ||
| 2018 | Memphis | 23 | LB | Yr 2 | ||
| 2019 | Memphis | 23 | LB | Yr 3 | ||
| 2020 | Memphis | 23 | LB | Yr 4 | ||
| 2021 | Memphis | 23 | LB | Sr. (Yr 5) | 6′1″ | 225 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2021 Memphis 12 games, 123 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs. Nicholls | W 42–17 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 11 | at Arkansas State | W 55–50 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 18 | vs. Mississippi State | W 31–29 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 25 | vs. UTSA | L 28–31 | 18 | 11 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2 | at Temple | L 31–34 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 9 | at Tulsa | L 29–35 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | vs. Navy | W 35–17 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 22 | at UCF | L 7–24 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 6 | vs. SMU | W 28–25 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 13 | vs. East Carolina | L 29–30 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 19 | at Houston | L 13–31 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 27 | vs. Tulane | W 33–28 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 Memphis 11 games, 58 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs.Arkansas State | W 37–24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 3 | atSMU | L 27–30 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 17 | vs.UCF | W 50–49 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 24 | vs.Temple | W 41–29 | 8 | 6 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 31 | at Cincinnati | L 10–49 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 7 | vs. South Florida | W 34–33 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 21 | vs. Stephen F. Austin | W 56–14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 28 | atNavy | W 10–7 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 5 | atTulane | L 21–35 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 12 | vs.Houston | W 30–27 | 6 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 23 ✦ | vs. Florida Atlantic | W 25–10 | 9 | 5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 Memphis 14 games, 58 tackles, 1 sack
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. Ole Miss | W 15–10 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 7 | vs. Southern | W 55–24 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 14 | at South Alabama | W 42–6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 26 | vs.Navy | W 35–23 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 5 | at UL Monroe | W 52–33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 12 | atTemple | L 28–30 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 19 | vs.Tulane | W 47–17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 26 | atTulsa | W 42–41 | 7 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2 | vs.SMU | W 54–48 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | atHouston | W 45–27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | atSouth Florida | W 49–10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 29 | vs.Cincinnati | W 34–24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 7 | vs.Cincinnati | W 29–24 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 28 ✦ | vs. Penn State | L 39–53 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2018 Memphis 14 games, 58 tackles, 3 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. Mercer | W 66–14 | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 8 | atNavy | L 21–22 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 14 | vs. Georgia State | W 59–22 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 22 | vs.South Alabama | W 52–35 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 28 | atTulane | L 24–40 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 6 | vs. UConn | W 55–14 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 13 | vs.UCF | L 30–31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 20 | at Missouri | L 33–65 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 3 | atEast Carolina | W 59–41 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 10 | vs.Tulsa | W 47–21 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | atSMU | W 28–18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | vs.Houston | W 52–31 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 1 | atUCF | L 41–56 | 9 | 5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 22 ✦ | vs. Wake Forest | L 34–37 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2017 Memphis 6 games, 9 tackles
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Pro day 2022 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′0⅜″ |
| Weight | 227 lb |
| Arm length | 33″ |
| Hand size | 10⅜″ |
| Wingspan | 77⅞″ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.70 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.62 s |
| Vertical jump | 36″ |
| Broad jump | 9′10″ |
| Bench press | 26 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 7.27 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.53 s |
Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
3 seasons, 21 games with a stat; latest team: Arizona Cardinals.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 13 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 21 | 47 | 1 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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