Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-24@ Troy | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 17-23vs Tulsa | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Total | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#9
Jace Arnold
Senior safety on Sam Houston's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 185 lb · Douglasville, GA · Marietta HS / Wisconsin
CFB Index 11 · #535 of 544 safetiesMedium confidenceReturning to Sam Houston 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. 753 nationally · Signed with Wisconsin
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 safety on Sam Houston's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Wisconsin in 2023.
- Transferred from Wisconsin to Sam Houston in 2025.
Jace Arnold
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Across three seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Luke Fickell and Phil Longo. The receipt on tape: 5 tackles against Tulsa, Week 2, 2026.
7 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with Wisconsin3-star out of Marietta
20259 games
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coaches2024
K.C. Keeler
Sam Houston
2025–2026era →
Phil Longo
Sam Houston
Coaching transition mid-career: K.C. Keeler → Phil Longo. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024Wisconsin5-7HC: Luke Fickell · Run-leaning
2025Sam Houston2-10HC: Phil Longo · Balanced
2026Sam Houston0-2HC: Phil Longo · Pass-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Concern: tackles (0th 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.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 3.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Phil Longo
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
11 · #535 of 544 safeties
Three-star recruit. Now #535 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Conference USA
Based on 2025: #42 of 43 Conference USA DBs
How the All-Conference USA estimate is computed
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sam Houston | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Sam Houston | 19 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 27 | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Sam Houston
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Sam Houston
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +5 net (20 in / 15 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Sam Houston · Last season: 2-10 · Talent rank #117 · 2026 recruiting class #126
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Avyonne Jones’s 2024 season.
Matches Avyonne on
Height
PD rate
Tackle volume
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Jaylen Watson's sophomore season at Iowa (2025).
90%match
NFL Rd 7
Matches Jaylen on
Class year
Height
TFL rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Jace Arnold
Background
Wisconsin 2024 Season Played in 10 games, mostly on special teams … saw defensive action versus Purdue (Oct. 5) and at Northwestern (Oct. 19) … made one tackle on special teams versus Penn State (Oct. 26) 2023 Season Played in the season’s final four games on special teams Marietta HS Four-star r...
The secondary · Sam Houston
- #8Tyler Bailey45 tackles · 2025
- #20Dravon Wilson21 tackles · 2025
- #9Jace Arnold19 tackles · 2025
- #5Jalyn Stanford10 tackles · 2025
- #13Railyn Adams9 tackles · 2025
18 more on the roster · Sam Houston team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology