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Jersey Number 20
Dontae Balfour
- Position:
- Cornerback
- Height:
- 6-1
- Weight:
- 185
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Starke, Fla.
- High School:
- Bradford
CAREER AWARDS & HONORS
2025 SEASON (SENIOR)
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
HIGH SCHOOL
PERSONAL
- Shrine Bowl 1,000 (2025, Sr.)
- All-AAC Third Team (2024, Jr.)
2025 SEASON (SENIOR)
- An immediate contributor for one of the nation’s top defenses, appearing in 13 of 14 games at cornerback with seven starts … missed on the season-opening win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8/30) … split starts with Amier Boyd at the cornerback spot opposite of Brice Pollock for a revamped Red Raider secondary.
- Recorded 23 tackles on the season (14 solo) to go along with five pass breakups … made at least one tackle in nine games overall and had multiple stops in eight of those contests … shared one tackle that went for a loss early in the season during non-conference play … pass breakups largely came during Big 12 play with four against conference foes.
- Key member of a Red Raider defense that significantly improved on its pass coverage, allowing only 190.1 yards per game through the air … a drastic improvement for a defense that gave up 308.1 passing yards per game a year ago prior to his arrival … the Red Raiders ended the year as the FBS leader for rushing defense (68.1 yards per game) and were third nationally for both scoring allowed (11.8 points per game) and total defense (258.3 yards per game).
- Credited with 334 defensive snaps by Pro Football Focus, which ranked 12th on the team … publication awarded him a 72.2 overall grade that was thanked in part by a 79.2 grade as a tackler and a 72.1 grade in coverage … targeted 25 times in coverage with only 14 of those resulting in a reception … joined fellow corners in Boyd and Pollock in all having a completion percentage under 60.0 to lead the team .
- Season high for tackles came in the Big 12 opener at Utah (9/20) with five stops and a pass breakup … was part of a three-game streak with a pass breakup after getting his hands one against both Oregon State (9/13) and at Houston (10/4) as well … finished with three tackles in the win over the Beavers, including one that went for a three-yard loss after correctly identifying a screen pass … had made his first start of the season in the win over the Beavers.
- Proceeded to start the next five games to open Big 12 play as well as the Senior Day victory over UCF (11/15) … recorded at least two tackles in each of those five games, finishing with two stops at Houston and versus Kansas (10/11) and Oklahoma State (10/25) and three at Arizona State (10/18) … broke up a pass versus the Cowboys as well as in the regular-season matchup versus BYU (11/8) … best performance down the stretch came with three tackles in the regular-season finale at West Virginia (11/29).
- AWARDS AND HONORS: identified as a potential NFL prospect prior to the season, landing on the Shrine Bowl 1,000 list.
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
- Spent his first two seasons (2021-22) of collegiate career at North Carolina and the next two at Charlotte (2023-24) … played in 29 games over first four collegiate seasons before Texas Tech … saw action in six games with the Tar Heels before starting in all 23 games played in during Charlotte career.
- Made 109 tackles (75 solo), including 3.5 for a loss, to go along with three interceptions, 24 passes defended, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery over his collegiate career … recorded 103 of 109 career tackles in two seasons with the 49ers.
- 2024 SEASON (JUNIOR at CHARLOTTE): tabbed to the All-AAC third team after a successful junior campaign … started at cornerback in all 12 games played in, serving as a game captain in six of those contests.
- Recorded 49 tackles, the fourth-most stops on the team, and 2.5 tackles for loss … tallied second and third career interceptions of career during 2024 campaign … posted 11 pass breakups, which marked the second season in a row to match the school record at Charlotte … set the school record for career pass breakups (22) in two total seasons at Charlotte.
- Started the season with an interception and one pass breakup versus James Madison (8/31), as well as four tackles, including half-a-tackle for loss … had one tackle at North Carolina (9/7) and then tallied four tackles against Gardner-Webb (9/14) … traveled to Indiana (9/21), posting five tackles and one pass breakup.
- Notched one of his top performances of the season at Rice (9/28) with seven tackles, including a single-game season high of 1.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups … had two tackles versus East Carolina (10/5) ... followed with two tackles, including half-a-tackle for loss, at Navy (10/19).
- Finished with three tackles, an interception and two pass breakups at Memphis (10/26) ... set the all-time Charlotte school record for career pass breakups in the game against the Tigers, surpassing the previous record of 17.
- Recorded four tackles against Tulane (10/31) and had four more tackles against South Florida (11/16) late in the season … had four tackles again and two pass breakups against Florida Atlantic (11/23) … set a career high for single-game tackles with nine in the season finale versus UAB (11/30) ... tacked on two more pass breakups in the season finale, bringing career total to 22 to end his Charlotte tenure.
- Named to preseason Paycom Jim Thorpe Award watch list … a preseason All-AAC first team selection by the likes of Athlon Sports, Phil Steele and College Football Network … was a second-team preseason All-AAC honoree by Hero Sports.
- 2023 SEASON (SOPHOMORE at CHARLOTTE): played and started in 11 games in first significant season at Charlotte … tied the school record with 11 pass breakups during the season and was fourth on the team with 54 tackles (34 solo) with one tackle for loss ... added two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.
- Tied the single-game pass breakup record with four versus Memphis (11/11) ... previously had three pass breakups in the overtime win at Tulsa (11/4), while sealing the game with his first career interception on the final play of the game … recorded a season-high nine tackles with one for a loss and a forced fumble in overtime loss to Memphis … had eight tackles with a forced fumble at Florida (9/23) early in the season.
- Recognized on the Athletic Director's List for his work in the classroom.
- 2022 SEASON (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN at NORTH CAROLINA): appeared in four games at defensive back and on special teams as a redshirt freshman … posted six tackles in second season with the Tar Heels, with all six coming in the season opener against FAMU (8/27) … also saw action at Georgia State (9/10), Virginia Tech (10/1) and at Miami (10/8).
- 2021 SEASON (FRESHMAN at NORTH CAROLINA): redshirt season … appeared in two games at defensive back and on special teams against Georgia State (9/11) and Wofford (11/20) during non-conference play.
HIGH SCHOOL
- Attended Bradford High School in Starke, Fla., located roughly 45 miles from Jacksonville … one of the top defensive back prospects out of the 2021 class … two-way player under coach Brian Tomlinson, excelling in the secondary and as a wide receiver throughout prep career.
- Notched 201 tackles, 14 interceptions and 12 pass breakups over three prep seasons ... recognized as a first team Jacksonville.com All-First Coast selection as a senior ... helped Bradford to the second round of the 4A playoffs that season ... posted 77 tackles, four interceptions and two pass breakups on defense during senior season while catching 25 passes for 386 yards and two touchdowns on offense ... also scored touchdowns on an INT return and a kickoff return ...
- Named a second team Gainesville Sun All-Area selection as a junior after leading Bradford to the third round of the 4A playoffs ... tallied 52 tackles, seven interceptions and four pass breakups defensively, while adding 17 receptions for 312 yards and five touchdowns on offense ... collected 72 tackles, three interceptions and six pass breakups during his debut season on varsity as a sophomore.
- Three-sport athlete who also competed in track and field and basketball ... was a state qualifier in the 300-meter hurdles and triple jump as a sophomore ... averaged over 20 points per game as a senior in basketball.
- Listed as a four-star prospect out of high school by both 247Sports and On3 … tabbed the 17th-ranked cornerback and the No. 31 player in Florida by 247Sports ... ranked higher by On3 at No. 7 among cornerbacks and No. 13 among Florida prospects … named the nation’s 27th-ranked cornerback and the No. 66 player in the state by ESPN ... considered the nation’s 42nd-best cornerback and the No. 70 player in the state by Rivals … chose North Carolina originally over offers from LSU, Oregon, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Penn State, among others.
PERSONAL
- Dontae Balfour ... son of Darris Williams and Arthura Balfour.
- A leadership studies major at Texas Tech.
Joey McGuire Media Session
Tuesday, March 10
Ben Roberts Media Session
Tuesday, March 10
Terrance Carter Jr. Media Session
Tuesday, March 10
Spring Football Hype
Tuesday, March 10
