Akili Arnold: S · USC.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Akili Arnold
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches across six seasons and two programs. A game that shows it: 8 tackles against Minnesota — Week 6, 2024.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
59 tackles. 1 pass defended. 1 interception. 0.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
247Sports Nov 2
USA Today Nov 1
On3 Oct 21
Yahoo Sports Oct 16Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | USC | 59 | 36 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | Oregon State | 62 | 25 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 6 | 2 |
| 2022 | Oregon State | 12 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Oregon State | 33 | 18 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2020 | Oregon State | 30 | 17 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2019 | Oregon State | 17 | 11 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 213 | 112 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 11 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 27-20vs No. 13 LSU | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-0vs Utah State | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-27@ No. 18 Michigan | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-24@ Minnesota | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 30-33vs No. 4 Penn State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 28-29@ Maryland | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 42-20vs Rutgers | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-26@ Washington | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 28-20vs Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 19-13@ UCLA | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 35-49vs No. 5 Notre Dame | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 35-31vs Texas A&M | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 36 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 |
Bowl · 2024
W 35-31
vs Texas A&M · neutral site
1 interception · 6 tackles · 4 solo tackles
Edged out Texas A&M at a neutral site in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
2%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
59tackles this seasonTFL rate
1%0 TFL59 tackles · 0.5 for loss · 0.5 sacks · 1 pass breakup · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 5.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
59.9%
533 pass / 357 run
Plays / game
68.5
13 games
Team sack rate
2.5%
563 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
59 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Six seasons, at Oregon State and USC, 213 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 51 games over six seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2024
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Jonathan Smith and Lincoln Riley.
