James Madison · W 24-21
5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
The other 7 games average 4 tackles. This one was 1 above.
Donnie Smith
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Second year in the same secondary at Troy. The first career honor came in 2025: All-Sun Belt. On tape: 7 tackles against Louisiana, Week 7, 2026.
34 tackles · 6 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
34 tackles. 5 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 6.5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
NJ.com Oct 22Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 1 pass breakup, 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-21vs Sam Houston | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 34-17vs Alabama State | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-27@ No. 20 Missouri | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-21@ Utah State | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 55-34vs Southern Miss | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 6-33@ Louisiana | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 14-21vs UL Monroe | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 9 | W 24-21@ James Madison | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 34 | 22 | 6.5 | 6.0 | — | 5 |
Oct. 29 · W 24-21 at James Madison, play by play
5 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss. Second quarter, down 21-7.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 6 tackles for loss, 6 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Troy’s defense played that day
James Madison’s 16 drives: 13 stopped (5 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 8 of 11. His pbu came with Troy down 7.
3 tackles, including 1 sack, 2 passes broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 5-yard loss. Third quarter, up 7-3.
7 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 3-yard loss. Fourth quarter, down 21-10.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 3 for him; the box score credits 2.
5 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback 3 times.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 9 · 2026
W 24-21
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 5 tackles
A close one, won by 3 on the road.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -24 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
15%5 pass breakupsTackle volume
34tackles this seasonTFL rate
19%6 TFL34 tackles · 6.5 for loss · 6 sacks · 5 pass breakups.
2 seasons under Gerad Parker — 12-10 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Road4g | 4.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Gerad Parker
Pass share
41.1%
230 pass / 329 run
Plays / game
69.9
8 games
Team sack rate
7.5%
265 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Sun Belt
Based on 2025: #1 of 17 Sun Belt DEs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 49% of returning players who ranked #1–3 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 43–54%).
2026 is in progress.
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SUN BELT · 1ST TEAM
All-Sun Belt 1st team (2025)
CBS Sports College Football
