Senior safety on UAB's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 200 lb · Sicklerville, NJ
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
CB recruit
No. 543 nationally · Signed with Boston College
Last played in 2025.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior safety on UAB's 2026 roster.
Jalen Cheek
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Jalen Cheek has played for three head coaches across four seasons and two programs. One game to point at: 8 tackles against Navy — Week 2, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Bryant Vincent, Trent Dilfer, and Alex Mortensen. Multi-era developmental context.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | UAB | 23 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Boston College | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Boston College | 26 | 16 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Boston College | 3 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 58 | 28 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 6 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | L 24-38@ Navy | 8 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 31-28vs Akron | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-56@ Tennessee | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-31vs Army | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 19-38@ UConn | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 17-24@ Rice | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: passes defended (18th 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.
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
0%0 pass breakupsTackle volume
23tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%1 TFL23 tackles · 1 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 4.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Alex Mortensen
Pass share
36.0%
73 pass / 130 run
Plays / game
67.7
3 games
Team sack rate
8.2%
85 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Donovan McMillon’s 2022 season.
Matches Donovan on
Differs from Donovan on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Josh Foster's senior season at TCU (2023).
Matches Josh on
Player DNA
26 more on the roster · UAB team page