Al Blades Jr.: CB · Duke · #7.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Al Blades Jr.
Gets targeted often and tackles in space. Played for five head coaches at two programs in six seasons: Mark Richt, Manny Diaz, Jess Simpson, Mario Cristobal and Trooper Taylor. A game that shows it: 8 tackles against Florida State — Week 8, 2023.
Play style
Targeted often and asked to tackle in space on the perimeter.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
43 tackles. 9 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 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.
The Daily Progress Oct 23
Yahoo Sports Oct 19Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-7vs No. 9 Clemson | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-14vs Northwestern | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 41-7@ UConn | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-21vs No. 11 Notre Dame | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 24-3vs NC State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 8 | L 20-38@ No. 4 Florida State | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 9 | L 0-23@ No. 18 Louisville | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 24-21vs Wake Forest | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 45-47@ No. 24 North Carolina | 7 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 27-30@ Virginia | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 30-19vs Pittsburgh | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
 Bowl | W 17-10vs Troy | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 43 | 26 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 9 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
21%9 pass breakupsTackle volume
43tackles this season43 tackles · 0.5 for loss · 9 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 2.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Road5g | 4.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Trooper Taylor
Pass share
44.8%
355 pass / 437 run
Plays / game
60.9
13 games
Team sack rate
4.3%
375 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2023
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 Miami and Duke, 134 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2018–2023
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Mark Richt, Manny Diaz, Mario Cristobal and Mike Elko.
