Washington · L 10-17
6 tackles, 2 for loss
The other 7 games average 4 tackles. This one was 2 above.
Donovan Jones
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Three seasons in the Nebraska secondary to date. On tape: 8 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Maryland, Week 5, 2026.
36 tackles · 2 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
36 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 7 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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Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 49-21vs Ohio | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | W 56-7vs Bowling Green | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 34-7vs North Dakota | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-13@ Michigan State | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 48-23vs Maryland | 8 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 17-20vs No. 7 Indiana | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 14-17@ Oregon | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-17vs Washington | 6 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 36 | 23 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 4 |
Oct. 31 · L 10-17 vs Washington, play by play
6 tackles, including 2 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Against his own season: his best backfield disruption game of the season so far.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 7 tackles for loss, 2 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Nebraska’s defense played that day
Washington’s 10 drives: 8 stopped · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 8 of 10. His pbu came with Nebraska up 7.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 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.
8 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 3, sacks included.
3 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up.
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. Third quarter, up 24-0.
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 interception. His pass breakup on 3rd and 15 ended Bowling Green’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Broke up a pass on 3rd and 15. First quarter, up 7-0. Ended Bowling Green’s drive (int).
4 tackles, including 2 passes broken up, tied for 8th-most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -18 to +24 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
11%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
36tackles this seasonTFL rate
19%7 TFL36 tackles · 7 for loss · 2 sacks · 4 pass breakups · 1 interception.
3 seasons under Matt Rhule — 19-15 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Road2g | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 6.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Rhule
Pass share
48.1%
276 pass / 298 run
Plays / game
71.8
8 games
Team sack rate
4.6%
306 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
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 #20 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #36 of 77 Big Ten 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%).
The No. 1,421 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Big Ten as a junior.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 24 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Matt Rhule.
