Senior safety on Mississippi State's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 195 lb · Springfield, OH · Springfield HS (Oklahoma)
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. 7 nationally · Joined Oklahoma
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior safety on Mississippi State's 2026 roster.
Kendel Dolby
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Across four seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby. The receipt on tape: 6 tackles against UL Monroe, Week 1, 2026.
10 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
5 programs, one constant: he played.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Greg Knox → Jeff Lebby. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Mississippi State
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mississippi State | 10 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Oklahoma | 9 | 8 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Oklahoma | 10 | 7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Oklahoma | 49 | 33 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 78 | 52 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 5 | 2 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 62-13vs UL Monroe | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 38-13@ Minnesota | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-34@ South Carolina | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 41–34
2 tackles · 1 solo tackles
Edged out South Carolina on the road in a shootout.
With K. Taylor — 251 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 87.9 · 33 rush yds (8 car) · F. Bothwell — 115 rush yds (21 car)
Since week 2: +2 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (8th 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.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Lebby
Pass share
44.6%
91 pass / 113 run
Plays / game
68.0
3 games
Team sack rate
4.8%
105 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Former four-star. Now #72 at the position.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
His 2023 production profile sits closest to Jeremiah Lewis’s 2023 season.
Matches Jeremiah on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Meki Pei's freshman season at Hawai'i (2022).
Matches Meki on
Player DNA
Career Honors 2023 Honorable Mention All-Big 12 Career Notes Has played in 20 career games with 7 starts … Graduated from Oklahoma in December 2024 with a degree in multidisciplinary studies ... Pursuing a second bachelor's degree in human relations. Before Mississippi State (2022-25) Attended…
20 more on the roster · Mississippi State team page