Courtesy: Jackson State Athletics
DETROIT — Former Jackson State football standout James Houston IV recorded his fourth sack of the season Sunday in only his third career game for the Detroit Lions.
For the second straight game, Houston’s sack came on the final play of the first half, taking down Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins as the Lions went on to win the game, 34-23.
Houston became the third Detroit rookie to record a sack in three straight games, set a franchise record with 4.0 sacks through three career games, and became the first Lion and 14th player in NFL history to record a sack in his three NFL games.
The former Jackson State standout, who was elevated to the active roster three weeks ago, recorded two sacks and recovered a fumble in his NFL debut for the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day against the Buffalo Bills. Houston recorded a second-quarter sack last week in the win over Jacksonville.
James Houston, who was a sixth-round pick by Detroit in the 2022 NFL Draft, had spent the first 10 weeks of the season on the Lions’ practice squad.
This past April, Houston was the 217th pick in the draft and became the 100th NFL draft pick in Jackson State history.
In his one season at Jackson State, Houston earned first-team All-SWAC, STATS FCS All-America and FCS Coaches All-America honors after recording 70 tackles (52 solo) and ranking second in the FCS in sacks (16.5), tackles for loss (24.5) and leading the nation in forced fumbles (seven). Houston also had two fumble recoveries, one interception, eight quarterback hurries, and scored two defensive touchdowns. He was named the HBCU Gameday/Protect Your Skull FCS Defensive Player of The Year of 2021.
Detroit (6-7) will play at the New York Jets next Sunday at noon on CBS.