Senior defensive back on Hawai'i's 2026 roster.
5′8″ · 185 lb · Las Vegas, NV
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
CB recruit
No. 1630 nationally · Signed with Hawai'i
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Hawai'i's 2026 roster.
Elijah Palmer
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. He has spent four seasons in the Hawai'i secondary. All-Mountain West in 2025 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. The receipt on tape: 6 tackles against Stanford, Week 1, 2026.
12 TACKLES · 1 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
All-Mountain West mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Timmy Chang.
Season context · Team result + system
4 seasons under Timmy Chang — 20-21 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: sacks (87th percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (85th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Timmy Chang
Pass share
63.7%
142 pass / 81 run
Plays / game
74.3
3 games
Team sack rate
5.2%
155 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-heavy.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Mountain West
Based on 2025: #6 of 42 Mountain West DBs
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 29–19
5 TOT · 5 SOLO · 1 SACKS
With M. Alejado — 346 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · -4 rush yds (3 car) · G. Heil — 45 AVG · 5 IN 20 · 63 LONG
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 27-37@ Stanford | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 1 | L 6-21vs UNLV | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 29-19vs New Mexico State | 5 | 5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Hawai'i
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Hawai'i
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Hawai'i · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #115 · 2026 recruiting class #124
Player DNA
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Ronald Kent Jr.’s 2022 season.
Matches Ronald on
Differs from Ronald on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to D'Angelo Ponds's junior season at Indiana (2025).
Matches D'Angelo on
Differs from D'Angelo on
Player DNA
16 more on the roster · Hawai'i team page