Josh Ahern: LB · Virginia · #33.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Josh Ahern
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Played for two head coaches at Virginia: Bronco Mendenhall and Tony Elliott. A game that shows it: 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Maryland — Week 3, 2023.
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
32 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 4 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
The Daily Progress Oct 16Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-49vs No. 12 Tennessee | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 14-42@ Maryland | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 24-27@ Boston College | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-13vs William & Mary | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 26-29@ Miami | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 17-45vs Georgia Tech | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 24-31@ No. 11 Louisville | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 30-27vs Duke | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 17-55vs Virginia Tech | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 18 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
32tackles this seasonTFL rate
12%4 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
6%2 pass breakups32 tackles · 4 for loss · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 3.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 4.2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 3.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tony Elliott
Pass share
47.0%
396 pass / 447 run
Plays / game
70.2
12 games
Team sack rate
9.6%
449 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #381 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Virginia, 91 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 31 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Bronco Mendenhall → Tony Elliott. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
