Braylon Johnson
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches across four seasons and two programs. A game that shows it: 9 tackles against Purdue — Week 2, 2026.
47 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
47 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 1 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.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wake Forest | 47 | 28 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | Wake Forest | 38 | 17 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4 | -- |
| 2024 | Virginia Tech | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Virginia Tech | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 95 | 50 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 8 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 pass breakup, 7 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 38-16vs Akron | 7 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-36@ Purdue | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 20-33vs No. 5 Miami | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 30-27@ No. 16 Louisville | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 57-3vs Stanford | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-14@ NC State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 41-7@ California | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 51-7vs Virginia | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 47 | 28 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 |
Oct. 31 · W 51-7 vs Virginia, play by play
7 tackles, including 1 interception, 1 pass broken up. His interception on 4th and 5 ended Virginia’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 8 for him; the box score credits 7.
Intercepted on 4th and 5. First quarter, up 7-0. Ended Virginia’s drive (int).
His game this year: coverage — 4 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Wake Forest’s defense played that day
Virginia’s 9 drives: 8 stopped (1 takeaway) · 1 scored. His interception came with Wake Forest up 7.
3 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.
5 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. His pass breakup on 4th and 5 ended NC State’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 5. Third quarter, up 24-14. Ended NC State’s drive (downs).
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 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.
7 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 4 of his 7, sacks included.
Sacked the quarterback for a 8-yard loss. First quarter, up 10-0.
Week 9 · 2026
W 51-7
vs Virginia
1 interception · 7 tackles · 1 pass breakup
Dominant 44-point win at home against Virginia.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
9%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
47tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%1 TFL47 tackles · 1 for loss · 1 sack · 4 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 6.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 5.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 7.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jake Dickert
Pass share
45.3%
237 pass / 286 run
Plays / game
65.4
8 games
Team sack rate
4.5%
269 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
47 tackles in 8 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #54 of 75 ACC DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 25 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Brent Pry and Jake Dickert.
