Koi Perich is a ballhawk safety, a receiver, and a returner -- the kind of athlete who does everything. He's the No. 1 transfer safety in the country, and Oregon brought him in to replace a first-round pick.
6′1″ · 200 lb · Esko, MN · Esko HS
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.
On production he ranks #111 of 544 safeties; on reputation he is on a national watch list. The gap between those two numbers is the story.
Recruiting
S recruit
No. 70 nationally · Signed with Minnesota
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Koi Perich is a ballhawk safety, a receiver, and a returner -- the kind of athlete who does everything. He's the No. 1 transfer safety in the country, and Oregon brought him in to replace a first-round pick.
How he projects
Erases the deep middle of the field.
Grades highest in zone coverage and play recognition.
The full scouting readBuzz vs Tape
The wider college football conversation reads him warmer than his own fans do — a gap of 31 points in belief.
Also worth knowing:
“3 key position battles to keep an eye on during Gophers fall camp. 🔒Safety spot with Koi Perich gone to Oregon 💪 Right tackle (again) ⚓️ Both DT Go Gophers!!”
Perich arrived as a national name at Minnesota -- five interceptions and Freshman All-America honors in 2024, then roughly 82 tackles and All-Big Ten production in 2025 -- and he did it as a genuine two-way weapon who also lined up at receiver and returned kicks. Now he's the No. 1 transfer safety in the country and an ESPN top-15 non-quarterback playmaker, landing at Oregon to replace first-round pick Dillon Thieneman. The forward stakes are a featured role on a title contender: a safety with this range, these ball skills and this versatility is the kind of piece a defense builds its disguises around. For Oregon, he's the playmaking centerpiece of a reloaded secondary.
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
Perich is a rangy, ball-hawking safety with rare athletic versatility. The trait that defines him is the ball production -- five interceptions as a freshman is elite anticipation and range from the back end -- paired with the speed and physicality to play downhill as a tackler (his ~82-tackle 2025 says he'll come up and hit). The two-way utility (snaps at receiver, work as a returner) underlines the athleticism: this is a true playmaker with the ball in the air or in his hands. He's a center-field eraser who can also rob underneath routes, the kind of versatile, instinctive safety the modern two-high game is built to feature.
Written by our staff.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2026)
1 selectors honored him
ALL-BIG TEN · 2ND TEAM
All-Big Ten 2nd team (2025)
FRESHMAN HONORS
Freshman recognition (2024)
1 mention(s)
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Dan Lanning.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Oregon
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 34-27vs Boise State | 11 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 31-39@ Oklahoma State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 84-0vs Portland State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 16 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 34–27
vs Boise State
11 tackles · 3 solo tackles
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.
With D. Moore — 378 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · -5 rush yds (2 car) · B. Ettridge — 48 yards per punt · 3 punts · 3 inside the 20
Since week 2: +1 pass breakup, +1 tackle.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles for loss (16th 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
6%1 pass breakupsTackle volume
16tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL16 tackles · 1 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road1g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 5.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dan Lanning
Pass share
50.9%
110 pass / 106 run
Plays / game
72.0
3 games
Team sack rate
5.7%
122 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
In the All-America conversation, short of a selector's first team.
Selector Grid · 2026
Play style
Perich is a rangy, ball-hawking safety with rare athletic versatility. The trait that defines him is the ball production -- five interceptions as a freshman is elite anticipation and range from the back end -- paired with the speed and physicality to play downhill as a tackler (his ~82-tackle 2025 says he'll come up and hit). The two-way utility (snaps at receiver, work as a returner) underlines the athleticism: this is a true playmaker with the ball in the air or in his hands. He's a center-field eraser who can also rob underneath routes, the kind of versatile, instinctive safety the modern two-high game is built to feature.
Our classifier reads him the same way: erases the deep middle of the field.
Player DNA
Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Damon Walters’s 2026 season.
Matches Damon on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Damon Walters's junior season at Northwestern (2026).
Matches Damon on
Player DNA
As a Junior (2026) » Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list » Big Ten Preseason Honors As a Sophomore at Minnesota (2025) » All-Big Ten second team Played in all 13 games, seeing action on offense, defense and special teams ... Recorded 82 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack ... Broke up…
20 more on the roster · Oregon team page