Linebacker. 2026: 45 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack (FCS).
This page has 9 box-score games from 2026, but we have not confirmed the team.
6′1″ · 236 lb · Knoxville, TN
CFB Zeitgeist Score
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.
How he plays
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait.
Tackles: 88th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
tackles · 2026
Best game: 7 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, vs Gardner-Webb
Career numbers, season by seasonEli Jones
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. One game to point at: 7 tackles and 1 INT against North Alabama — Week 8, 2026.
45 tackles · 1 sack
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
1 coachPlayed every college season under Tyson Helton.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Western Kentucky | 45 | 20 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Career | 45 | 20 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1 |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (pale blue = weaker defense, dark blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 35-17vs Gardner-Webb | 7 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | L 9-28@ Vanderbilt | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 63-7vs Morehead State | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-16@ West Florida | 5 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 35-12vs UT Martin | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 42-17vs New Haven | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 32-40vs Tarleton State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 24-10@ West Georgia | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 27-21@ North Alabama | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 20 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: tackles (88th percentile). Strength: solo tackles (80th percentile). Concern: passes defended (20th percentile).
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.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
45tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%3 TFLSack rate
2%1 sackPD rate
0%0 pass breakups45 tackles · 3 for loss · 1 sack · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 6.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 4.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 7.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
45 tackles. 0 passes defended. 1 interception. 3 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.
Player DNA
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Jakarri Thomas’s 2016 season.
Matches Jakarri on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Maverick Baranowski's freshman season at Minnesota (2023).
Matches Maverick on
