Akial Byers

Senior defensive lineman for Missouri. 2021: 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, 22 tackles.

DL · Missouri · Sr.

6′3″ · 288 lb · Fayetteville, AR

CFB Index 16 · #343 of 370 edge rushersLow confidenceMissouri 2021 alumnus

Recruiting

4★

DT recruit

No. 287 nationally · Signed with Missouri

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive lineman for Missouri. 2021: 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, 22 tackles.

Signed as a 4-star recruit to Missouri in 2017.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Five seasons at Missouri, 2 sacks — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

20174 games

Signed with Missouri4-star out of Fayetteville

Career arc

Recruit

★★★★

#287 national

CFB

College

Missouri

2017–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2017–2021

2 coaches

2017–2019

Barry Odom

Missouri

2020–2021

Eli Drinkwitz

Missouri

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Barry Odom → Eli Drinkwitz. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2017Missouri7-6HC: Barry Odom · Balanced

2018Missouri8-5HC: Barry Odom · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2019Missouri6-6HC: Barry Odom · Run-leaning

2020Missouri5-5HC: Eli Drinkwitz · Balanced

2021Missouri6-7HC: Eli Drinkwitz · Balanced, fast tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

16Below cohort / limited sample #343 of 370?

Medium confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: passes defended (19th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

QB hurries#530 / 2743 · 75th pct

Sacks#704 / 2743 · 72nd pct

1.5

Tackles for loss#1233 / 2743 · 52nd pct

2.5

Solo tackles#1505 / 2743 · 44th pct

Tackles#1830 / 2743 · 32nd pct

Passes defended#1695 / 2743 · 19th pct

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

2021 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home4g	2.5	0.4	0.4	0.0
Road5g	2.4	0.2	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-74g	3.2	0.1	0.1	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	1.8	0.4	0.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Eli Drinkwitz

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

16 · #343 of 370 edge rushers

Former four-star. Now #343 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Missouri	22	15	2.5	1.5	--	--	--
2020	Missouri	15	5	2.0	0.0	1	--	--
2019	Missouri	18	9	2.0	0.5	--	--	--
2018	Missouri	20	14	2.0	0.0	--	--	--
2017	Missouri	3	2	0.0	0.0	1	--	--
Career		78	45	8.5	2.0	2	--	--

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	Note
Wk 1	W 34-24vs Central Michigan	1	0	0.5	0.5	—
Wk 2	L 28-35@ Kentucky	3	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 4	L 34-41@ Boston College	5	5	0.0	0.0	—	Season-high 5 tackles
Wk 5	L 24-62vs Tennessee	4	3	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 9	W 37-28@ Vanderbilt	2	2	1.0	0.0	—
Wk 10	L 6-43@ Georgia	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 11	W 31-28vs South Carolina	2	2	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 12	W 24-23vs Florida	3	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 13	L 17-34@ Arkansas	1	0	0.0	0.0	—
Total		22	15	2.5	1.5	—

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Akial Byers

20174 games

2021 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Rotational

Career stats

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Two-Gap Base

Players who play like Akial Byers