#23

Jaylen Mahoney

Senior defensive back on Vanderbilt's 2023 roster.

DB · Vanderbilt · Sr. · #23

5′11″ · 200 lb · Rock Hill, SC

CFB Index 53 · #238 of 538 safetiesLow confidenceVanderbilt 2023 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

CB recruit

No. 1365 nationally · Signed with South Pointe

Statement game12 tackles · 5 TFL · 1 sackat Missouri (FBS) · L 14-17

Top 0.1% tackles for loss game since 2021.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive back on Vanderbilt's roster.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to South Pointe in 2019.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Five seasons at Vanderbilt, 246 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

20198 games

Recruited3-star out of South Pointe

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#1365 national

CFB

College

Vanderbilt

2019–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2019–2023

2 coaches

2019–2020

Derek Mason

Vanderbilt

2021–2023

Clark Lea

Vanderbilt

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Derek Mason → Clark Lea. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2019Vanderbilt3-9HC: Derek Mason · Balanced, slow tempo

2020Vanderbilt0-9HC: Derek Mason · Balanced

2021Vanderbilt2-10HC: Clark Lea · Balanced

2022Vanderbilt5-7HC: Clark Lea · Run-leaning

2023Vanderbilt2-10HC: Clark Lea · Balanced, slow tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

53Rotational starter #238 of 538?

Medium confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (93rd percentile). Strength: solo tackles (90th percentile). Concern: sacks (24th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Passes defended#158 / 2842 · 93rd pct

Solo tackles#276 / 2842 · 90th pct

Tackles#369 / 2842 · 87th pct

Tackles for loss#1868 / 2842 · 28th pct

1.0

QB hurries#1486 / 2842 · 24th pct

Sacks#1503 / 2842 · 24th pct

0.0

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

2023 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	5.8	0.2	0.0	0.0
Road5g	4.8	0.0	0.0	1.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	5.7	0.1	0.0	0.3
Weeks 8+4g	4.8	0.0	0.0	1.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Clark Lea

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Starter

Tackle volume for the position at a full-time starter's level.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

53 · #238 of 538 safeties

Three-star recruit. Now #238 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Vanderbilt	59	38	1.0	0.0	6	--	--
2022	Vanderbilt	55	37	7.0	1.0	4	1	--
2021	Vanderbilt	52	40	4.5	2.0	3	2	--
2020	Vanderbilt	57	33	2.0	0.0	2	--	--
2019	Vanderbilt	23	10	1.5	1.0	2	1	--
Career		246	158	16.0	4.0	17	4	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2023

W 47–13

vs Alabama A&M

3 SOLO · 4 TOT

Dominant 34-point win at home against Alabama A&M.

With A. Swann — 194 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 28.1 · 24 rush yds (3 car) · 1 TD · J. McGowan — 6 rush yds (1 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 35-28vs Hawai'i	3	2	0.0	—	0
Wk 1	W 47-13vs Alabama A&M	4	3	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	L 20-36@ Wake Forest	6	5	0.0	—	2
Wk 3	L 37-40@ UNLV	2	1	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	L 28-45vs Kentucky	1	0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	L 21-38vs Missouri	8	6	1.0	—	0
Wk 7	L 20-37vs Georgia	16	10	0.0	—	0	Season-high 16 tackles
Wk 9	L 7-33@ Ole Miss	7	2	0.0	—	1
Wk 10	L 15-31vs Auburn	3	2	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	L 6-47@ South Carolina	5	5	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	L 24-48@ Tennessee	4	2	0.0	—	3
Total		59	38	1.0	—	6

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Jaylen Mahoney

20198 games

2023 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Starter

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Hybrid Nickel

Players who play like Jaylen Mahoney