James Houston

BIOGRAPHY

James Houston was born November 16, 1998, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is a linebacker in the NFL.

Houston began his college career at Florida. He redshirted his true freshman season after being suspended along with eight other players due to his involvement in a credit card fraud scheme. As a redshirt freshman, Houston played in all 13 of the Gators' games as a reserve linebacker and made 28 tackles with two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and one blocked punt. He had 38 tackles with six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in his redshirt sophomore season. Houston recorded 37 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, and one forced fumble as a redshirt junior. Following the end of the season he entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Houston ultimately transferred to Jackson State. In his only season with the Tigers, he recorded 70 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and an interception and was named first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Houston was selected in the sixth round, 217th overall, by the Detroit Lions in the 2022 NFL Draft. During a Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Houston recorded 2 sacks, 2 solo tackles, and a fumble recovery in just five defensive snaps. He followed this up with a sack in each of his next 3 games, becoming only the third player in NFL history (along with Terrell Suggs and Santana Dotson) to open his career with a 4 game sack streak.