Auburn CB DJ James Has Been Excellent This Season for the Tigers

Auburn defensive back DJ James has been a shutdown corner for the Tigers this season.

After transferring in from Oregon a season ago, James has continued to play at an extremely high level, and his Pro Football Focus numbers continue to reflect it.

Per PFF, James is tied as the No. 7 cornerback in the nation with Central Michigan’s Da’Raun McKinney. Both have a grade of 86.4. That’s good for third in the SEC behind Alabama corners Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrian Arnold (86.6 and 87.4 grades).

Funnily enough, James is one spot ahead of former Auburn Tigers Kamal Hadden, who transferred to Tennessee and is currently graded as one of the best corners in the nation.

James has only allowed one touchdown this season while picking off two passes. His 89.8 coverage grade is sixth-best in the nation. He also boast an opponent passer rating of 64.5 and has collected seven pass breakups.

He’s one of the reasons Auburn’s PFF coverage grade is 91.1, good for 11th nationally.

The Tigers are going to need his best performance against Alabama in two weeks.

Auburn returns home to take on New Mexico State this Saturday, November 18th. Kickoff is at 3:00 pm CT on the SEC Network.

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It’s a weird time in the SEC as Texas A&M and Mississippi State both just fired their head coaches, meaning some decommitments and flips could be coming soon.

Auburn would love to flip some of the expectational talent in Texas A&M’s 2024 class like perhaps Cam Coleman.

Auburn wide receiver commit Perry Thompson just posted the picture of Coach Hugh Freeze holding a largemouth bass that is often posted when Auburn lands a commit.

Perhaps Thompson is trying to alert us that a big recruit could flip his commitment to Auburn.

You would have to guess that Thompson posting this with him being a receiver means the person he is referring to could be the Texas A&M commit Coleman, who is an Alabama native, or Alabama commit Ryan Williams.

If Auburn were to land either Coleman or Williams, it would make the 2024 recruiting class truly special, and the drop issues Auburn has had this season would likely be gone.

Regardless of who the bat signal is referring to, Thompson would not be posting it for no reason, so you have to imagine Auburn fans will be getting some good news in the near future.

The vibes around the Auburn football program after the win over Arkansas are through the roof, and it’s clear the Tigers will continue to win football games and recruit at a high level.