Elijah Dotson
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for two head coaches at two programs in two seasons: Biff Poggi and Eli Drinkwitz. On tape: 7 tackles against Ole Miss, Week 7, 2026.
31 tackles · 0 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
31 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 1 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 Elijah Dotson vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
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Last game (Wk 9): 3 tackles.
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 54-14vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-21@ Kansas | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 27-17vs Troy | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-31@ No. 24 Mississippi State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 45-17vs No. 8 Florida | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-6vs Texas A&M | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 3-31@ No. 9 Ole Miss | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 34-10@ Arkansas | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 31 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 34-10 at Arkansas, play by play
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. The pressure he forced on 4th and 6 ended Arkansas’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Broke up a pass. Second quarter, up 13-7. Ended Arkansas’s drive (half).
Hurried the quarterback on 4th and 6. Fourth quarter, up 34-10. Ended Arkansas’s drive (downs).
His game this year: taking the ball away — 1 interception, 1 forced fumble in the 8 games with play by play.
How Missouri’s defense played that day
Arkansas’s 10 drives: 8 stopped (4 takeaways) · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 3. His pbu came with Missouri up 6.
7 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.
3 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception on 3rd and 2 ended Texas A&M’s drive (int).
Intercepted on 3rd and 2. First quarter, tied 0-0. Ended Texas A&M’s drive (int).
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 3 for him; the box score credits 2.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles.
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.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 3, sacks included.
Forced a fumble on 3rd and 10. Second quarter, up 37-0.
Week 6 · 2026
W 27-6
vs Texas A&M
1 interception · 3 tackles · 1 solo tackle
Dominant 21-point win at home against Texas A&M.
Ratings of the games shown run from -10 to +15 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
6%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
31tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%1 TFL31 tackles · 1 for loss · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Eli Drinkwitz
Pass share
47.4%
255 pass / 283 run
Plays / game
67.2
8 games
Team sack rate
3.0%
269 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
Former four-star. Now #211 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Sherrone Moore and Eli Drinkwitz.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Missouri
