“God if Brawley were still at OU we might be ranked right now...”
6 stories in the last 30 days, from 4 outlets.
Austin Brawley
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for two head coaches across five seasons and two programs. The first career honor came in 2025: Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week. A game that shows it: 9 tackles against Oklahoma — Week 3, 2026.
30 tackles · 0.5 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
30 tackles. 2 passes defended. 4 interceptions. 2 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 4 outlets
from 4 outlets
Austin Brawley Named to Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Watch List
KRQE +1 Aug 12 · 2 outlets
New Mexico LobosEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
New Mexico9 stories2025 to nowMost about: awards and watch lists, preview and matchup, win.
New Mexico LobosLobo Football vs. Central Michigan Postgame: Austin Brawley (9/5/26)Sep 6
Ohio2022 to 2024not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New Mexico | 30 | 15 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 2 | 4 |
| 2025 | New Mexico | 25 | 12 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2024 | Ohio | 38 | 23 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 | Ohio | 41 | 15 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2022 | Ohio | 20 | 9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 154 | 74 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 9 | 10 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 interception, 4 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-7vs Central Michigan | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | W 70-7vs Mercyhurst | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 6-14@ No. 24 Oklahoma | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 42-18@ New Mexico State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 61-7vs UTEP | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 21-10@ Hawai'i | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-16vs North Dakota State | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 21-16@ San José State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 15 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 4 | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 21-16 at San José State, play by play
4 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception ended San José State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, up 21-16. Ended San José State’s drive (int).
His game this year: taking the ball away — 4 interceptions in the 8 games with play by play.
How New Mexico’s defense played that day
San José State’s 10 drives: 7 stopped (2 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 7. His interception came with New Mexico up 5.
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 56 yards for the score. 3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
Intercepted on 3rd and 5, returned 56 yards for the score. Fourth quarter, made it 21-9.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 11-yard loss on 3rd and 5. Second quarter, down 3-0.
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 65 yards for the score. 1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 3rd and 8, returned 65 yards for the score. Third quarter, made it 27-0.
3 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception on 3rd and 22 ended New Mexico State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 3, sacks included.
Intercepted on 3rd and 22. Second quarter, up 14-3. Ended New Mexico State’s drive (int).
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 2 passes broken up, tied for 8th-most passes broken up in FBS that week. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 8 · 2026
W 21-16
1 interception · 0.5 tackles for loss · 3 tackles
A close one, won by 5 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 -24 to +10 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
7%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
4interceptionsTackle volume
30tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%2 TFL30 tackles · 2 for loss · 0.5 sacks · 2 pass breakups · 4 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 5.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 3.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jason Eck
Pass share
28.9%
142 pass / 349 run
Plays / game
61.4
8 games
Team sack rate
10.6%
180 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Unranked recruit. Now #19 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
Recruited without a star rating, and honored since.
