Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 19-9vs Florida International | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-24@ Army | 10 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Total | 16 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#5
Ayden Jackson
Senior defensive back on South Florida's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 190 lb · Atlanta, GA · Walton HS
CFB Index 75 · #66 of 544 safetiesLow confidenceTransferred Georgia Southern → South Florida 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.
How he projects
Moves between deep coverage and the slot.
Grades highest in speed and play recognition.
The full scouting readRecruiting
--
WR recruit
Signed with Georgia Southern
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on South Florida's 2026 roster.
- Signed with Georgia Southern in 2023.
- Transferred from Georgia Southern to South Florida in 2026.
Ayden Jackson
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Across four seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Clay Helton and Brian Hartline. The receipt on tape: 10 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Army, Week 2, 2026.
16 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
4 programs, one constant: he played.
20234 games
- Signed with Georgia Southernout of Walton
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coaches2023–2024
South Florida
2025era →
Kevin Patrick
South Florida
2026era →
Brian Hartline
South Florida
Played under 3 different head coaches: Alex Golesh, Kevin Patrick, and Brian Hartline. Multi-era developmental context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to South Florida
2025Georgia Southern
2026South Florida
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023Georgia Southern6-7HC: Clay Helton · Pass-leaning
2024Georgia Southern8-5HC: Clay Helton · Balanced
2025Georgia Southern7-6HC: Clay Helton · Balanced
2026South Florida2-0HC: Brian Hartline · Run-leaning, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Elite: tackles (80th 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: 8.0 TKL/g, 0.2 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brian Hartline
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | South Florida | 16 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Georgia Southern | 74 | 44 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 | -- |
| 2024 | Georgia Southern | 35 | 20 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Georgia Southern | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 131 | 76 | 7.5 | 0.0 | 6 | 3 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 28–24
at Army
10 TOT · 4 SOLO · 0 TFL
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 4 on the road.
With M. Van Buren Jr. — 239 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 82.3 · 45 rush yds (5 car) · 2 TD · L. Goater — 42 AVG · 3 IN 20 · 48 LONG
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 2026 production profile sits closest to Kenneth Robinson’s 2020 season.
Matches Kenneth on
Tackle volume
Weight
PD rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Jacob Dingle's senior season at Cincinnati (2022).
Matches Jacob on
Class year
Weight
Tackle volume
Player DNA
Players who play like Ayden Jackson
Background
HONORS 2026 PFN Preseason First Team All-Conference 2025 PFN All-Sun Belt Conference Third Team A transfer defensive back who joined the Bulls in January of 2026 after playing three seasons and 34 games (18 starts) at Georgia Southern where he totaled 115 tackles, seven tackles for loss and three...
The secondary · South Florida
- #5Ayden Jackson74 tackles · 2025
- #2Tavin Ward60 tackles · 2025
- #3Za'Quan Bryan37 tackles · 2025
- #9Israel Boyce29 tackles · 2025
- #8Amarion Fortenberry13 tackles · 2025
19 more on the roster · South Florida team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology