Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-3vs Houston Christian | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 0-52@ Notre Dame | 7 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Total | 10 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#7
AJ Brown
Senior defensive end on Rice's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 188 lb · Marietta, GA · Walton
CFB Index 39 · #369 of 544 safetiesMedium confidenceTransferred UAB → Rice for 2026
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.
How he plays
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack.
Passes defended: 77th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
0
sacks · 2026
0.5 TFL · 10 tackles
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 0.5 TFL, 7 tackles, at Notre Dame
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive end on Rice's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to UAB in 2022.
- Transferred from UAB to Rice in 2026.
AJ Brown
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Across four seasons and two programs, three head coaches: Trent Dilfer, Alex Mortensen and Scott Abell. The receipt: 7 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Notre Dame — Week 2, 2026.
10 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
4 programs, one constant: he played.
2022
- Signed with UAB3-star out of Walton
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coaches2023–2024
Rice
2025–2026era →
Scott Abell
Rice
Coaching transition mid-career: Mike Bloomgren → Scott Abell. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Rice
2025UAB
2026Rice
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023UAB4-8HC: Trent Dilfer · Balanced
2024UAB3-9HC: Trent Dilfer · Balanced
2025UAB4-8HC: Alex Mortensen · Balanced
2026Rice1-1HC: Scott Abell · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Concern: tackles (10th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 5.0 TKL/g, 0.2 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scott Abell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 31–3
3 TOT · 2 SOLO
Dominant 28-point win at home against Houston Christian.
With Q. Jackson — 61 rush yds (10 car) · 2 TD · C. Durkin — 54 AVG · 54 LONG · 1 NO
Game log
How he plays
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Versatile End
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
EDGE
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Romario Napoles’s 2016 season.
Matches Romario on
Sack rate
TFL rate
Height
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Daymon David's senior season at Akron (2024).
99%match
Matches Daymon on
Class year
Height
Sack rate
Player DNA
Players who play like AJ Brown
Background
Transfer from UAB while he played in 36 games (six starts) and saw action on 697 defensive snaps and 525 special teams plays… Was credited with 91 tackles, including three for loss (one sack) and one interception. UAB 2025 Appeared in all 12 games and made six starts... totaled 53 tackles, two fu...
The defensive line · Rice
- #57Aquantis Clemmons3.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #16Chibby Nwajuaku3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #92Luca Akirtava2 tackles for loss · 2025
- #2Jo Chavez1.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #7AJ Brown0 tackles for loss · 2025
14 more on the roster · Rice team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology