Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 24-45vs UCLA | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 21-18@ Syracuse | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 49-7vs Wagner | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#9
AJ Tuitele
Redshirt freshman linebacker for California. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
6′2″ · 220 lb · North Las Vegas, NV · Mojave HS
Transferred USC → California for 2026
The numbers
12
tackles · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 6 tackles, at Syracuse
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Redshirt freshman linebacker for California. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to USC in 2025.
- Transferred from USC to California in 2026.
AJ Tuitele
Two head coaches in two seasons, at two different programs. The receipt: 6 tackles against Syracuse — Week 2, 2026.
12 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2025
- Signed with USC3-star out of Mojave
20263 games
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coaches2025
California
2026era →
Tosh Lupoi
California
Coaching transition mid-career: Justin Wilcox → Tosh Lupoi. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to California
2025USC
2026California
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | California | 12 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | USC | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 13 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log
Game by game
AJ Tuitele's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 49–7
vs Wagner
2 tackles · 2 hurries · 1 solo tackles
Dominant 42-point win at home against Wagner.
With J. Sagapolutele — 413 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 64.3 · A. Mohammed — 91 rush yds (13 car) · 2 TD
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +2 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
2025USC9-4HC: Lincoln Riley · Balanced
2026California2-1HC: Tosh Lupoi · Pass-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: qb hurries (99th percentile). Concern: tackles for loss (16th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tosh Lupoi
Pass share
57.9%
124 pass / 90 run
Plays / game
71.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.2%
138 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Background
Accolades - Athletic Polynesian Player of the Year Award Watch List (2026) Freshman (2025) - USC Played in three games. Redshirted. Prep Played at Mojave HS -- Class of 2025. Rated as the No. 1 player in the state of Nevada by On3, No. 10 by 247Sports and No. 11 by ESPN. He was touted as the No....
The linebacker corps · California
- #21Aaron Hampton41 tackles · 2025
- #10Jayden Wayne26 tackles · 2025
- #15Joshua Pierce14 tackles · 2025
- #4Justin Beadles12 tackles · 2025
- #9AJ Tuitele1 tackle · 2025
11 more on the roster · California team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology