McNeese · W 63-14 · FCS
4 tackles
Auburn · W 38-17
7 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
The other 7 games average 5 tackles. This one was 2 above.
“Definitely. I think just dont put Keys as a spy, he is a little slower”
4 stories in the last 60 days, from 3 outlets.
As of
The framing around Keys this offseason is almost cruel in its math. He led LSU with 92 tackles in 2025 while filling in for an injured Whit Weeks, a total that, as Tigers beat coverage put it, "would make him a starter at virtually any other program in the country." Instead, Weeks is back and First-Team All-SEC, and LSU added TJ Dottery, who happened to lead the entire SEC with 98 tackles for Ole Miss's playoff run. Dottery and Keys finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference in tackles last season; now they share a position room, and Keys is the odd man out on the projected depth chart.
The board sentiment splits between "this is the best linebacker unit in the SEC" and "how is a 92-tackle kid LB3?" Sports Illustrated's LSU site literally ran the headline that Keys "could get buried on the depth chart." The saving grace everyone keeps pointing to is scheme: Blake Baker rotates heavily in his 4-2-5, so Keys won't actually be glued to the sideline. He'll spell Weeks and Dottery, and given his freshman-year flash, a 41-yard pick-six in the Texas Bowl over Baylor as a true freshman, the talent isn't the question.
The forward stake is simple and it's the one LSU fans keep circling: in a room this loaded, does Keys claw back to a full-time role, or does the most productive returning linebacker on the roster spend his junior year as the SEC's most overqualified backup?
So far in 2026 Keys has 25 tackles, 14 of them solo, with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. LSU lost 35-34 at Kentucky on October 10.
Sources
Play style
Keys is a downhill, instinctive tackler who reads run fits fast and gets to the ball sideline-to-sideline, the trait the Butkus watch note flags as his calling card. The production backs the scouting: 92 stops as a sophomore, 35 of them solo per his 2025 line, plus 3.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack, so he's a finisher in space more than a blitz-heavy edge presser. His pass instincts are real too, with two pass breakups in 2025 and a true-freshman pick-six on his resume, suggesting coverage range to match the run-and-hit. No play-by-play percentiles are available for him, so this is a scouting read, not a percentile profile: think reliable, rangy, high-volume off-ball linebacker whose floor is high enough that depth, not ability, is the only thing keeping him off the field.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
42 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 3.5 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 3 outlets
from 3 outlets
Davhon Keys Makes Bold Statement About LSU Defense Without Whit Weeks
Sports Illustrated Sep 30 · 1 outlet
Sports Illustrated
Tiger RagEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 8): 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack.
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 51-10vs Clemson | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 45-14vs Louisiana Tech | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 24-32@ No. 8 Ole Miss | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 35-6vs No. 23 Texas A&M | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 63-14vs McNeese | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 34-35@ Kentucky | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 31-0vs No. 16 Mississippi State | 10 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 8 | W 38-17@ Auburn | 7 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 22 | 3.5 | 1.5 | — | 1 |
Oct. 24 · W 38-17 at Auburn, play by play
7 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss. Fourth quarter, up 38-10.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 3 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 8 games with play by play.
How LSU’s defense played that day
Auburn’s 10 drives: 7 stopped · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 4.
10 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 4-yard loss on 3rd and 2. Second quarter, up 21-0.
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.
4 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
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: 4 of his 6, sacks included.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 7 · 2026
W 31-0
0.5 sacks · 1.5 tackles for loss · 10 tackles
Dominant 31-point win at home against Mississippi State.
Ratings of the games shown run from -3 to +15 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
42tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%4 TFLSack rate
4%2 sacksPD rate
2%1 pass breakups42 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 5.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 5.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 7.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lane Kiffin
Pass share
47.3%
299 pass / 333 run
Plays / game
79.0
8 games
Team sack rate
4.3%
328 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #220 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #40 of 76 SEC LBs
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 27 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Brian Kelly, Frank Wilson, and Lane Kiffin. Multi-era developmental context.
