Northern Illinois · W 56-21
8 tackles
The other 7 games average 4 tackles. This one was 4 above.
Elijah Palmer
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Four seasons in the Hawai'i secondary to date. All-Mountain West in 2025 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. On tape: 8 tackles against Northern Illinois, Week 8, 2026.
38 tackles · 1 sack
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
38 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
New York Post Oct 29Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 8): 8 tackles.
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 | L 27-37@ Stanford | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | L 6-21vs UNLV | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 29-19vs New Mexico State | 5 | 5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-27@ Wyoming | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 16-20vs San José State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 12-30@ Arizona State | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 10-21vs New Mexico | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 56-21@ Northern Illinois | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Total | 38 | 24 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 24 · W 56-21 at Northern Illinois, play by play
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 2 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Hawai'i’s defense played that day
Northern Illinois’s 11 drives: 8 stopped (4 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 2 of 4.
3 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.
5 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.
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.
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 4 of his 5, sacks included.
1 tackle.
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. It places 7 for him; the box score credits 6.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +9 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%2 pass breakupsTackle volume
38tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%2 TFL38 tackles · 2.5 for loss · 1 sack · 2 pass breakups.
4 seasons under Timmy Chang — 21-25 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 6.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 8.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Timmy Chang
Pass share
61.7%
346 pass / 215 run
Plays / game
70.1
8 games
Team sack rate
5.2%
383 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Mountain West
Based on 2025: #6 of 42 Mountain West DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 41 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
All-Mountain West mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Timmy Chang.
