Ali Fayad: DE · Western Michigan · #1.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ali Fayad
Wins the corner before the tackle can set. Rated a two-star prospect, with five seasons of snaps at Western Michigan since. That makes two seasons with an honor, the latest MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. On tape: 6 tackles against Michigan, Week 1, 2021.
Play style
Bends the edge and wins with first-step quickness. Lighter frame, relentless motor.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
35 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 16 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.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Western Michigan | 40 | 27 | 18.0 | 13.0 | 2 |
| 2020 | Western Michigan | 17 | 10 | 6.0 | 4.0 | -- |
| 2019 | Western Michigan | 52 | 23 | 14.5 | 6.0 | 1 |
| 2018 | Western Michigan | 33 | 20 | 11.0 | 6.5 | -- |
| 2017 | Western Michigan | 20 | 15 | 5.5 | 2.5 | -- |
| Career | 162 | 95 | 55.0 | 32.0 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-47@ Michigan | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 28-0vs Illinois State | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 44-41@ Pittsburgh | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 23-3vs San José State | 5 | 4 | 3.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 5 | W 24-17@ Buffalo | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 64-31vs Kent State | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | L 15-34@ Toledo | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 30-42vs Central Michigan | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 45-40vs Akron | 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 12 | L 21-22@ Eastern Michigan | 4 | 3 | 3.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 13 | W 42-21@ Northern Illinois | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 25 | 16.0 | 11.5 | — | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
32%13 sacksTFL rate
45%18 TFLHurry rate
22%9 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
59%13 of 22 pressures40 tackles · 18 for loss · 13 sacks.
5 seasons under Tim Lester — 32-25 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.2 |
| Road6g | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tim Lester
Pass share
38.7%
368 pass / 583 run
Plays / game
79.2
12 games
Team sack rate
6.8%
395 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #286 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Western Michigan, 32 sacks, a first-team All-Conference season (2021) — the college career is complete.
Recruited as a two-star, and honored since.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 1ST TEAM
All-MAC 1st team (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Tim Lester.
