AJ Brown
The four seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Trent Dilfer, Alex Mortensen and Scott Abell. A game that shows it: 9 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against East Carolina — Week 6, 2026.
60 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
60 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 8): 1 pass breakup, 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| 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@ No. 3 Notre Dame | 7 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 21-28vs Western Michigan | 9 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 24-38@ Fresno State | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-16vs UTSA | 9 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 12-28@ East Carolina | 9 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 17-38vs Tulsa | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 49-51@ Florida Atlantic | 8 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 60 | 35 | 5.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 |
Oct. 24 · L 49-51 at Florida Atlantic, play by play
8 tackles, including 2 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Against his own season: tied for his best backfield disruption game of the season so far.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Rice’s defense played that day
Florida Atlantic’s 12 drives: 6 stopped (1 takeaway) · 6 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 10. His pbu came with Rice down 2.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles, including 2 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 8 of his 9, sacks included.
Forced a fumble on 3rd and 8. First quarter, tied 0-0.
7 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Ratings of the games shown run from -4 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%3 pass breakupsTackle volume
60tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%5 TFL60 tackles · 5 for loss · 3 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 7.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 8.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 7.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 8.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scott Abell
Pass share
20.2%
100 pass / 394 run
Plays / game
61.8
8 games
Team sack rate
11.2%
116 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
60 tackles in 8 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #219 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 34 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Bryant Vincent, Trent Dilfer, Alex Mortensen and Scott Abell.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Rice
