Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-20@ James Madison | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 24-23vs Gardner-Webb | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Total | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#3
Ashton Whitner
Freshman safety on Liberty's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 196 lb · Greenville, SC · Greenville HS
CFB Index 39 · #374 of 544 safetiesMedium confidenceTransferred Ball State → Liberty for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
3★
S recruit
No. 1974 nationally · Signed with Georgia Southern
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
1 safety on Liberty's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Georgia Southern in 2022.
- Transferred from Ball State to Liberty in 2026.
Ashton Whitner
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Across four seasons and three programs, three head coaches: Ricky Rahne, Mike Uremovich and Jamey Chadwell. The receipt: 3 tackles, 1 TFL against Gardner-Webb — Week 2, 2026.
4 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
6 programs, one constant: he played.
2022
- Signed with Georgia Southern3-star out of Greenville
20239 games
- Entered the portal
20259 games
- Entered the portal
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
3 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coach2023–2026
Liberty
Played his entire career under Jamey Chadwell.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Liberty
2025Ball State
2026Liberty
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023Old Dominion6-7HC: Ricky Rahne · Run-leaning
2024Old Dominion5-7HC: Ricky Rahne · Run-leaning
2025Ball State4-8HC: Mike Uremovich · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2026Liberty1-1HC: Jamey Chadwell · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 2.0 TKL/g, 0.5 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jamey Chadwell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Part-time starter
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
39 · #374 of 544 safeties
Three-star recruit. Now #374 at the position.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Liberty | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Ball State | 38 | 32 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Old Dominion | 26 | 11 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Old Dominion | 25 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 | -- |
| Career | 93 | 54 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 24–23
vs Gardner-Webb
3 TOT · 3 SOLO · 1 TFL
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 1 at home.
With S. Crossan — 44 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 49 LONG · M. Jackson — 2 rec · 69 yds · 1 TD
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jabari Moore’s 2020 season.
Matches Jabari on
PD rate
Tackle volume
Height
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Ben Cutter's junior season at West Virginia (2025).
Matches Ben on
Class year
PD rate
TFL rate
Differs from Ben on
Weight (lower)
Player DNA
Players who play like Ashton Whitner
Background
Previous Schools: Transferred to Liberty from Ball State Saw playing time in 10 games during the 2025 season Finished the 2025 season with 41 tackles (33 solo, eight assisted), 3.0 tackles for a loss (four yards) and a pass breakup Spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Old Dominion Saw playing time...
The secondary · Liberty
- #13Jeremiah Vessel54 tackles · 2025
- D-Icey Hopkins51 tackles · 2025
- #3Ashton Whitner38 tackles · 2025
- #17Jayden Davis10 tackles · 2025
- #2Jiquavious Marshall5 tackles · 2025
15 more on the roster · Liberty team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology