Alex Austin: DB · Oregon State · #5.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Alex Austin
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Fourth year in the same secondary at Oregon State. On tape: 7 tackles against Oregon, Week 13, 2022.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
53 tackles. 9 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 1 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.
OregonLive Nov 2OregonLive Oct 26
Sports Illustrated Oct 23Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Oregon State | 53 | 39 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9 | 2 |
| 2021 | Oregon State | 48 | 27 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 |
| 2020 | Oregon State | 29 | 19 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2019 | Oregon State | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 137 | 91 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 19 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-17vs Boise State | 9 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 35-32@ Fresno State | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 3 | W 68-28vs Montana State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 14-17vs No. 7 USC | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 16-42@ No. 12 Utah | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 28-27@ Stanford | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 7 | W 24-10vs Washington State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 42-9vs Colorado | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-24@ Washington | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 38-10vs California | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 38-34vs No. 10 Oregon | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 53 | 39 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 9 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
17%9 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
53tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%1 TFL53 tackles · 1 for loss · 1 sack · 9 pass breakups · 2 interceptions.
4 seasons under Jonathan Smith — 24-21 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Road4g | 5.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 4.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jonathan Smith
Pass share
39.2%
323 pass / 502 run
Plays / game
63.5
13 games
Team sack rate
4.1%
344 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2022
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #53 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Oregon State, 137 tackles — drafted at #252 overall by the Buffalo Bills.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2022
1 coachPlayed every college season under Jonathan Smith.
Next stop · NFL
Buffalo BillsEntering 4th NFL season
Buffalo BillsEntering 4th NFL season
