Senior defensive lineman on UTSA's 2026 roster.
6′3″ · 260 lb · Houston, TX · North Shore HS
The numbers
sacks · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 1 tackles, vs UT Rio Grande Valley
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior defensive lineman on UTSA's 2026 roster.
Tai Leonard
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. He has spent five seasons in the UTSA defensive front. The receipt: 5 tackles against Texas State — Week 2, 2026.
8 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Jeff Traylor.
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 45-16vs UT Rio Grande Valley | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 31-26@ Texas State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 6-30@ Texas | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 45–16
Since week 2: +2 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
5 seasons under Jeff Traylor — 36-20 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: qb hurries (93rd percentile). Concern: tackles (0th 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 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Road2g | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Traylor
Pass share
53.1%
95 pass / 84 run
Plays / game
59.7
3 games
Team sack rate
1.9%
106 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Marcus Patterson’s 2024 season.
Matches Marcus on
Differs from Marcus on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Merhauti Xepera's senior season at Fresno State (2025).
Matches Merhauti on
Differs from Merhauti on
Player DNA
15 more on the roster · UTSA team page