James Shellman IV is a versatile Blue Raiders CB with upside and growing trust in the back end
James Shellman IV enters the 2026 season as a 6-foot, 190-pound junior corner at Middle Tennessee, and the buzz around him has been about growth: in spring 2023, the staff singled him out as a special-teams player who had a “really good winter program” and was “growing into his body and mind.”[1] He’s viewed as a steady, developmental defensive-back option rather than a flash-only playmaker, with recruiting-style rating pages slotting him in the low-70s range and a 2024 matchup comparison listing him at a 75—good signs that he’s trending as a dependable coverage piece.[2][3]
