Dakota Cochran is a linebacker who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Central Michigan.
Cochran is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Played for two head coaches at Central Michigan: Jim McElwain and Matt Drinkall. The first one came in 2025: All-MAC. A game that shows it: 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against Western Michigan — Week 10, 2025.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
81 tackles. 3 passes defended. 1 interception. 6 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.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Central Michigan | 81 | 42 | 6.0 | 0.5 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | Central Michigan | 54 | 29 | 10.5 | 3.5 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Central Michigan | 51 | 31 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022 | Central Michigan | 25 | 18 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 4 | -- |
| 2021 | Central Michigan | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 216 | 122 | 21.0 | 5.0 | 8 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 16-14@ San José State | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 17-45@ Pittsburgh | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 3-63@ No. 23 Michigan | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 49-10vs Wagner | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-13vs Eastern Michigan | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 22-28@ Akron | 5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 27-6@ Bowling Green | 8 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 38-13vs Massachusetts | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-24@ Western Michigan | 11 | 9 | 2.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 12 | W 38-19vs Buffalo | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 28-16@ Kent State | 5 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | L 3-21vs Toledo | 9 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 7-34vs Northwestern | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 81 | 42 | 6.0 | 0.5 | 1 | 3 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
81tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%6 TFLSack rate
1%0 sacksPD rate
4%3 pass breakups81 tackles · 6 for loss · 0.5 sacks · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road7g | 6.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 7.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Drinkall
Pass share
32.2%
252 pass / 531 run
Plays / game
60.2
13 games
Team sack rate
7.3%
261 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #167 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot to repeat All-MAC
Based on 2025: #13 of 55 Mid-American LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
The No. 1,932 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the Mid-American as a senior.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 2ND TEAM
All-MAC 2nd team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Jim McElwain → Matt Drinkall. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
