Amarien Jefferson
Gets targeted often and tackles in space. Two seasons in the Mississippi State secondary to date. On tape: 8 tackles against LSU, Week 7, 2026.
41 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Targeted often and asked to tackle in space on the perimeter.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
41 tackles. 9 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
The Clarion-Ledger Oct 17Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mississippi State | 41 | 22 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9 |
| 2025 | Mississippi State | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 48 | 26 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9 |
Last game (Wk 9): 3 tackles.
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 62-13vs UL Monroe | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-13@ Minnesota | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-34@ South Carolina | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-24vs No. 19 Missouri | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 5 | |
| Wk 5 | L 23-56vs No. 7 Alabama | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 0-31@ No. 22 LSU | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 15-23vs Oklahoma | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | L 3-31@ No. 11 Texas | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 41 | 22 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 9 |
Oct. 31 · L 3-31 at Texas, play by play
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 9 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Mississippi State’s defense played that day
Texas’s 11 drives: 7 stopped (1 takeaway) · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 2 of 4.
5 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 6 for him; the box score credits 5.
8 tackles. The fumble he forced on 3rd and 10 ended LSU’s drive (fumble).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 7 of his 8, sacks included.
Forced a fumble on 3rd and 10. Second quarter, down 14-0. Ended LSU’s drive (fumble).
6 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.
4 tackles, including 5 passes broken up, the most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
7 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 8 for him; the box score credits 7.
6 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.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 1 of his 2, sacks included.
Week 4 · 2026
W 31-24
vs Missouri
4 tackles · 5 pass breakups · 3 solo tackles
A close one, won by 7 at home.
Ratings of the games shown run from -24 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
22%9 pass breakupsTackle volume
41tackles this season41 tackles · 9 pass breakups.
2 seasons under Jeff Lebby, all run-leaning offenses — 9-12 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| Road4g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Lebby
Pass share
45.5%
250 pass / 299 run
Plays / game
68.6
8 games
Team sack rate
10.3%
301 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
41 tackles in 8 games, 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 #103 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
