Ahmad Gardner: CB · Cincinnati · #12.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ahmad Gardner
Jams receivers off their route at the line. Three seasons in the Cincinnati secondary to date. All-AAC in 2021 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 8 tackles against East Carolina — Week 13, 2021.
Play style
Long and physical; jams receivers off their route at the line.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
35 tackles. 4 passes defended. 3 interceptions. 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.
Yahoo Sports Oct 24
Front Office Sports Oct 22Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Cincinnati | 40 | 28 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4 | 3 |
| 2020 | Cincinnati | 28 | 16 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 6 | 3 |
| 2019 | Cincinnati | 31 | 24 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 |
| Career | 99 | 68 | 5.5 | 3.5 | 18 | 9 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 49-14vs Miami (OH) | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-7vs Murray State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-24@ Indiana | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-13@ No. 9 Notre Dame | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | W 52-3vs Temple | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 56-21vs UCF | 6 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 27-20@ Navy | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-12@ Tulane | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 28-20vs Tulsa | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 45-28@ South Florida | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 35-13@ East Carolina | 8 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 35-20vs No. 16 Houston | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 26 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3 | 4 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
10%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
3interceptionsTackle volume
40tackles this season40 tackles · 5 for loss · 3 sacks · 4 pass breakups · 3 interceptions.
3 seasons under Luke Fickell — 33-5 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Luke Fickell
Pass share
46.9%
399 pass / 451 run
Plays / game
65.4
13 games
Team sack rate
5.4%
427 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2021
First team in his league at the position.
The All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #4 of 321 FBS cornerbacks by CFB Zeitgeist Score.2021 profile
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #4 at the position.
Career, closed
Gone at #4 overall.
How it ended
Three seasons at Cincinnati, 99 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2020) — drafted at #4 overall by the New York Jets.
A stat line in 32 games over three seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 1ST TEAM
All-AAC 1st team (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2019–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Luke Fickell.
Next stop · NFL
New York JetsEntering 5th NFL season
New York JetsEntering 5th NFL season
