Cole Pearce: LB · Ball State · #40.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Cole Pearce
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Four seasons in the Ball State linebacker corps to date. First career honor, 2023: All-MAC. A game that shows it: 10 tackles and 3 tackles for loss against Eastern Michigan — Week 6, 2023.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
78 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 10 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Ball State | 78 | 45 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022 | Ball State | 85 | 48 | 14.0 | 5.0 | 5 | 1 |
| 2021 | Ball State | 37 | 20 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Ball State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 201 | 114 | 25.0 | 8.0 | 7 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-44@ Kentucky | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 3-45@ No. 1 Georgia | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-7vs Indiana State | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 3-40vs Georgia Southern | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-42@ Western Michigan | 10 | 8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 10-24@ Eastern Michigan | 10 | 3 | 3.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 7 | L 6-13vs Toledo | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 24-17vs Central Michigan | 9 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-24@ Bowling Green | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 20-17@ Northern Illinois | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 34-3vs Kent State | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 15-17vs Miami (OH) | 7 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 78 | 45 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
78tackles this seasonTFL rate
13%10 TFLSack rate
4%3 sacksPD rate
3%2 pass breakups78 tackles · 10 for loss · 3 sacks · 1 interception.
4 seasons under Mike Neu — 20-29 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 6.5 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 6.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 6.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 6.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Neu
Pass share
39.4%
304 pass / 468 run
Plays / game
64.3
12 games
Team sack rate
8.2%
331 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2023
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Four seasons at Ball State, 201 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 2ND TEAM
All-MAC 2nd team (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
1 coachPlayed every college season under Mike Neu.
