Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-16vs Akron | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-36@ Purdue | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 20-33vs Miami | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Total | 15 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#2
Brian Blades
Senior defensive back on Wake Forest's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 180 lb · Fort Lauderdale, FL
CFB Index 47 · #200 of 364 cornersLow confidenceTransferred Florida International → Wake Forest for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
3★
CB recruit
No. 1562 nationally · Signed with Florida International
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior defensive back on Wake Forest's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Florida International in 2021.
Brian Blades
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Brian Blades has played for four head coaches across six seasons and two programs. The receipt on tape: 8 tackles against Miami, Week 3, 2026.
15 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
He was on the field for 6 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
20213 games
- Signed with Florida International3-star out of American Heritage
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2021–2026
2 coaches2021–2024
Wake Forest
Coaching transition mid-career: Dave Clawson → Jake Dickert. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Wake Forest
2025Florida International
2026Wake Forest
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wake Forest | 15 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Florida International | 26 | 24 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Florida International | 29 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Florida International | 24 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Florida International | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Florida International | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 106 | 81 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 14 | 2 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
Brian Blades'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 2 · 2026
W 38–36
at Purdue
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +8 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
2021Florida International1-11HC: Butch Davis · Balanced, slow tempo
2022Florida International4-8HC: Mike MacIntyre · Pass-leaning
2023Florida International4-8HC: Mike MacIntyre · Balanced
2024Florida International4-8HC: Mike MacIntyre · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025Florida International7-6HC: Willie Simmons · Balanced
2026Wake Forest2-1HC: Jake Dickert · Pass-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Low confidence
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.
Defensive profile
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
0%0 pass breakupsTackle volume
15tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL15 tackles.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jake Dickert
Pass share
55.1%
108 pass / 88 run
Plays / game
65.3
3 games
Team sack rate
4.1%
121 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Rodney Shelley’s 2023 season.
Matches Rodney on
Weight
Height
PD rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
Player DNA
Players who play like Brian Blades
The secondary · Wake Forest
- #5Davaughn Patterson80 tackles · 2025
- #8Braylon Johnson38 tackles · 2025
- #27Travon West31 tackles · 2025
- #2Brian Blades26 tackles · 2025
- #22Myles Turpin24 tackles · 2025
18 more on the roster · Wake Forest team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology