Bricen Garner: S · Western Michigan · #2.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Bricen Garner
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches across six seasons and two programs. The first one came in 2020: All-MAC. A game that shows it: 9 tackles against Bowling Green — Week 10, 2022.
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
66 tackles. 4 passes defended. 2 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Western Michigan | 66 | 43 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 |
| 2021 | Western Michigan | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2020 | Western Michigan | 45 | 27 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 4 | -- |
| 2019 | Pittsburgh | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2018 | Pittsburgh | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2017 | Pittsburgh | 30 | 24 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| Career | 161 | 107 | 6.0 | 0.5 | 10 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 10 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 37-30@ Ball State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 13-34vs No. 23 Pittsburgh | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 6-34@ San José State | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 44-7vs New Hampshire | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 23-45vs Eastern Michigan | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 14-33vs Ohio | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 16-10@ Miami (OH) | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 9-13@ Bowling Green | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 11 | L 21-24vs Northern Illinois | 8 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 20-14vs Toledo | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 66 | 43 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 4 |
Week 5 · 2022
W 44-7
1 interception · 1 tackle for loss · 6 tackles
Dominant 37-point win at home against New Hampshire.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
6%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
66tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%2 TFL66 tackles · 2 for loss · 4 pass breakups · 2 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 6.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 7.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 7.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tim Lester
Pass share
42.2%
335 pass / 458 run
Plays / game
66.1
12 games
Team sack rate
11.8%
356 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2022
66 tackles in 10 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #66 at the position.
How it ended
Six seasons, at Pittsburgh and Western Michigan, 161 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2020) — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 38 games over six seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 1ST TEAM
All-MAC 1st team (2020)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2022
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Pat Narduzzi and Tim Lester.
