James Madison DE Jalen Green out for season with injury

James Madison star defensive end Jalen Green is set to miss the rest of the season with an injury, the school announced on Monday.

The star defender leads the nation with 21 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks. He has 50 total tackles on the season, as well as one interception and two forced fumbles.

Losing Jalen Green is a huge loss for a James Madison team that is having an excellent year. The Dukes are 9-0 and ranked No. 21 in the country with three games remaining.

James Madison is coming off of a 42-14 win over Georgia State on Saturday. Green had four tackles against the Panthers.

Jalen Green is a senior who signed with James Madison in the class of 2019. He was not a highly-rated recruit coming out of Good Counsel High School in Maryland, but he has been excellent for the Dukes throughout his college career.

As a freshman in 2019, Green appeared in 14 games, making 11 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss. He missed all of the 2020 season with an injury, before bouncing back to be a key contributor in 2021. That season, he had 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in 13 games.

Green had an excellent season in 2022, playing in 11 games and finishing with 22 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He has now turned into one of the top defenders in the country in 2023.

Here is the full release from James Madison on Jalen Green’s injury:

James Madison Head Coach Curt Cignetti announced Monday that senior defensive end Jalen Green will miss the rest of the season after sustaining an injury in this past weekend’s game at Georgia State.

Green was having a career year, having emerged as one of the premier edge rushers in the Football Bowl Subdivision in just his first season as a starter for the Dukes.

Through nine games, Green is the nation’s leader in both tackles for loss and sacks. He has tallied 50 total tackles with 21.0 for a loss and 15.5 sacks. Green also had a 24-yard pick-six, one pass breakup and a pair of forced fumbles to lead the defense.

Green had already set the Sun Belt Conference single-season record for sacks and was second in JMU single-season history, just one shy of tying the program’s lead mark. Back on Oct. 19 at Marshall, Green recorded a JMU-record five sacks in JMU’s victory at Marshall, which also tied the Sun Belt’s single-game record.

The Baltimore, Md., native has received a plethora of national attention, as he was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list while being named a Midseason First Team All-American by both The Athletic and College Football Network.

He additionally was named National Defensive Player of the Week by Walter Camp one time and by College Football Network twice.