6′0″ · 195 lb · Columbia, MO
Avery Jones
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. On tape: 8 tackles and 2 sacks against Illinois State, Week 2, 2026.
33 tackles · 2 sacks
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Northern Illinois | 33 | 20 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
| Career | 33 | 20 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
Last game (Wk 7): 7 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-40@ No. 22 Iowa | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-28vs Illinois State | 8 | 8 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 17-42@ Arizona | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 14-35@ Georgia State | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 7-28vs Air Force | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 23-41@ Wyoming | 7 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 20 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Oct. 17 · L 23-41 at Wyoming, play by play
7 tackles.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 2 tackles for loss, 2 of them sacks, in the 6 games with play by play.
How Northern Illinois’s defense played that day
6 tackles.
6 tackles.
3 tackles.
8 tackles, including 2 sacks, tied for 4th-most sacks in FBS that week.
Sacked the quarterback for a 7-yard loss on 3rd and 8. Third quarter, down 21-17.
3 tackles.
Ratings of the games shown run from -9 to +16 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
0%0 pass breakupsTackle volume
33tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%2 TFL33 tackles · 2.5 for loss · 2 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 7.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 4.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rob Harley
Pass share
54.0%
203 pass / 173 run
Plays / game
62.7
6 games
Team sack rate
9.7%
236 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
33 tackles in 6 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 is in progress.
