Nebraska · W 17-10
9 tackles, 0.5 for loss
The other 7 games average 7 tackles. This one was 2 above.
“That’s a clean hit. I hate that McLaughlin would try to hurt a guy like that but unfortunately just a hospital ball there”
4 stories in the last 60 days, from 3 outlets.
Alex McLaughlin
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Transferred to Washington from Northern Arizona. On tape: 8 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Iowa, Week 6, 2026.
57 tackles · 2.5 sacks
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
57 tackles. 4 passes defended. 3 interceptions. 7 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.
from 3 outlets
FOX Sports Oct 31 · 1 outlet
from 3 outlets
FOX Sports Oct 31 · 1 outlet
FOX Sports
Yahoo SportsYahoo SportsEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Washington | 57 | 31 | 7.0 | 2.5 | 4 | 3 |
| 2025 | Washington | 94 | 62 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 2 |
| Career | 151 | 93 | 10.0 | 2.5 | 10 | 5 |
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 24-10vs Washington State | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 16-14vs Utah State | 9 | 8 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 2 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 48-16vs Eastern Washington | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-27vs Minnesota | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 21-25@ No. 18 USC | 8 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-41vs No. 20 Iowa | 8 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 38-26@ Purdue | 7 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 17-10@ Nebraska | 9 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 57 | 31 | 7.0 | 2.5 | 3 | 4 |
Oct. 31 · W 17-10 at Nebraska, play by play
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 48 yards for the score. 9 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.
Intercepted, returned 48 yards for the score. Fourth quarter, made it 17-7.
His defensive touchdowns put 14 points on the board directly. Without them the final is 3-10, not 17-10 — the difference between winning and losing.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 7 tackles for loss, 2 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Washington’s defense played that day
Nebraska’s 11 drives: 9 stopped (3 takeaways) · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 9 of 10. His pick-six came with Washington up 3.
7 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 6 of his 7, sacks included.
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 7 of his 8, sacks included.
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss on 3rd and 7. Second quarter, down 10-7.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
7 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. The fumble he forced on 3rd and 8 ended Eastern Washington’s drive (fumble).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 6 of his 7, sacks included.
Forced a fumble on 3rd and 8. Second quarter, up 21-10. Ended Eastern Washington’s drive (fumble).
9 tackles, including 2 sacks, 1 interception, 2 passes broken up, tied for 4th-most sacks in FBS that week. His interception ended Utah State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss on 3rd and 1. Third quarter, up 10-7.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, up 13-7. Ended Utah State’s drive (int).
6 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 interception. His interception ended Washington State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 6, sacks included.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, up 24-10. Ended Washington State’s drive (int).
Week 2 · 2026
W 16-14
vs Utah State
1 interception · 2 sacks · 2 tackles for loss
A close one, won by 2 at home.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -14 to +15 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
7%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
3interceptionsTackle volume
57tackles this seasonTFL rate
12%7 TFL57 tackles · 7 for loss · 2.5 sacks · 4 pass breakups · 3 interceptions.
2 seasons under Jedd Fisch — 14-7 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Road3g | 8.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 6.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 9.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jedd Fisch
Pass share
56.4%
287 pass / 222 run
Plays / game
63.6
8 games
Team sack rate
7.6%
330 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
57 tackles in 8 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #1 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #2 of 15 Big Ten Ss
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 49% of returning players who ranked #1–3 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 43–54%).
The No. 1,953 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Big Ten.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 23 games over four seasons.
The role got bigger.
