DJ Walker
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. The four seasons at Ohio span three head coaches: Tim Albin, Brian Smith and John Hauser. The first career honor came in 2024: All-MAC. On tape: 9 tackles and 3 tackles for loss against South Alabama, Week 3, 2026.
43 tackles · 0 sacks
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
43 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 4 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.
Fans first named DJ Walker at Nebraska.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 10): 4 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-49@ Nebraska | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 29-27vs Jacksonville State | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 36-41@ South Alabama | 9 | 3 | 3.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | 3.0 TFL |
| Wk 4 | W 35-7vs Stonehill | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 13-10@ Kent State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 31-14vs Central Michigan | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 48-7@ Sacramento State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 24-20vs Eastern Michigan | 8 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 28-20@ Akron | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 43 | 24 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Nov. 3 · W 28-20 at Akron, play by play
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 45 yards for the score. 4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
Intercepted, returned 45 yards for the score. First quarter, made it 7-3.
His defensive touchdowns put 14 points on the board directly. Without them the final is 14-20, not 28-20 — the difference between winning and losing.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 4 tackles for loss, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Ohio’s defense played that day
Akron’s 10 drives: 5 stopped (2 takeaways) · 5 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 9. His pick-six came with Ohio down 3.
8 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.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
A big game: 9 tackles, including 3 more for loss, 1 pass broken up, tied for 3rd-most tackles for loss in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 6 of his 9, sacks included.
2 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.
Ratings of the games shown run from -29 to +15 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
43tackles this seasonTFL rate
9%4 TFL43 tackles · 4 for loss · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 5.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 4.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 6.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
John Hauser
Pass share
38.1%
206 pass / 335 run
Plays / game
60.1
9 games
Team sack rate
6.4%
233 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
43 tackles in 9 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #252 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot to repeat All-MAC
Based on 2025: #11 of 23 Mid-American Ss
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. 2,529 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Mid-American.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 36 games over four seasons.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 2ND TEAM
All-MAC 2nd team (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Tim Albin, Brian Smith, and John Hauser. Multi-era developmental context.
