Tarique Barnes: LB · Illinois · #8.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Tarique Barnes
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Played for three head coaches at Illinois: Lovie Smith, Rod Smith and Bret Bielema. A game that shows it: 7 tackles and 2 tackles for loss against Toledo — Week 1, 2023.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
25 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2 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.
LancasterOnline Oct 25
Yahoo Sports Oct 25Swipe 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 | W 30-28vs Toledo | 7 | 5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 23-34@ Kansas | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 13-30vs No. 7 Penn State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 19-44@ Purdue | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 21-25vs Wisconsin | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 27-26@ Minnesota | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 48-45vs Indiana | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 13-15@ Iowa | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 43-45vs Northwestern | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 13 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Week 1 · 2023
W 30-28
vs Toledo
1 sack · 2 tackles for loss · 7 tackles
Edged out Toledo at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
25tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%2 TFLSack rate
4%1 sackPD rate
0%0 pass breakups25 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 3.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
51.4%
413 pass / 390 run
Plays / game
66.9
12 games
Team sack rate
8.8%
457 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #478 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Illinois, 182 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 44 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Lovie Smith → Bret Bielema. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
