A.J. Thomas: S · Western Michigan · #6.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
A.J. Thomas
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Fifth year in the Western Michigan secondary. On tape: 10 tackles against Michigan, Week 1, 2021.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
53 tackles. 5 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Western Michigan | 53 | 42 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 5 | -- |
| 2020 | Western Michigan | 46 | 29 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | Western Michigan | 67 | 41 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 6 | -- |
| 2018 | Western Michigan | 47 | 30 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2017 | Western Michigan | 8 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 221 | 150 | 16.5 | 3.0 | 15 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 10 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-47@ Michigan | 10 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 28-0vs Illinois State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-17@ Buffalo | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 20-45vs Ball State | 9 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 64-31vs Kent State | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | L 15-34@ Toledo | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 30-42vs Central Michigan | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 45-40vs Akron | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 21-22@ Eastern Michigan | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 42-21@ Northern Illinois | 8 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Total | 53 | 42 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 5 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
9%5 pass breakupsTackle volume
53tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%2 TFL53 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 sack · 5 pass breakups.
5 seasons under Tim Lester — 32-25 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| Road5g | 6.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 5.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tim Lester
Pass share
38.7%
368 pass / 583 run
Plays / game
79.2
12 games
Team sack rate
6.8%
395 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #277 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Western Michigan, 221 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 44 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Tim Lester.
