2026 games, tackles for loss per game. W and L: the team’s results.
Written , before the 2026 season
Smith's 2025 was a wrecking-ball season: 12.5 sacks to lead the Big Ten and 17.5 tackles for loss, the kind of production that usually buys a ticket to the draft. Instead he rejected transfer interest and the NFL to return to Minnesota, pairing with Karter Menz to form one of the conference's best edge duos. The forward stakes are a climb up draft boards: he's already an All-America-caliber rusher, and 2026 is about refining the rush plan around a heavy, powerful base into a first-round profile. At his size, with this production, he's a problem for any tackle in the Big Ten.
Sources
Play style, written June 13, before the season
Smith is a power-rush edge — 6-6, 295, a heavy, long defender who wins by walking tackles back into the pocket rather than running the arc around them. The bull rush is the foundation, and the 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss say it works: he collapses the edge and the quarterback's launch point at once. At his weight he's stout against the run too, hard to move off the ball — the kind of edge who sets a firm edge and rushes from a base of strength. The development is the finesse to complement the force: add the counters and the bend, and a dominant power rusher becomes a complete one.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
17 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 3.5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 0.5 tackles for loss, 2 tackles, 1 hurry.
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 59-7vs Eastern Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-38vs Mississippi State | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-7vs Akron | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 27-24@ Washington | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-14vs Michigan | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-41@ Purdue | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 8 | W 13-10vs No. 15 Iowa | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 16-23@ No. 4 Indiana | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 4 | 3.5 | 1.5 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · L 16-23 at Indiana, play by play
2 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 3 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 7 games with play by play.
How Minnesota’s defense played that day
Indiana’s 14 drives: 9 stopped (2 takeaways) · 5 scored. While the game was within a score they held 9 of 14. His hurry came with Minnesota down 4.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 3-yard loss on 3rd and 10. Fourth quarter, up 20-14.
2 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.
Sacked the quarterback for a 12-yard loss on 3rd and 5. Fourth quarter, up 27-17.
2 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.
Sacked the quarterback for a 3-yard loss. First quarter, up 10-0.
2 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 4 · 2026
W 27-24
at Washington
0.5 sacks · 0.5 tackles for loss · 2 tackles
A close one, won by 3 on the road.
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 -25 to +24 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
21%4 TFLSack rate
9%2 sacksHurry rate
12%2 hurries17 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1.5 sacks.
5 seasons under P.J. Fleck — 36-24 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
P.J. Fleck
Pass share
54.3%
269 pass / 226 run
Plays / game
61.9
8 games
Team sack rate
3.5%
289 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2025
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #1 of 69 Big Ten DLs
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%).
2026 is in progress.
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under P.J. Fleck.
