UTEP · W 24-11
No tackles.
New Mexico · L 16-21
2 tackles
The other 7 games average 5 tackles. This one was 3 below.
Powell has tackles in 8 of San José State’s 9 games: none against UTEP.
Ethan Powell
Ranges from hash to hash and finishes the tackle. Played for two head coaches at San José State: Brent Brennan and Ken Niumatalolo. One game to point at: 8 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against USC — Week 1, 2026.
38 tackles · 2.5 sacks
Play style
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
38 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 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.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San José State | 38 | 28 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 2 | -- |
| 2025 | San José State | 37 | 26 | 2.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | San José State | 44 | 25 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2023 | San José State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | San José State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 126 | 84 | 13.0 | 3.5 | 5 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 2 tackles, 1 pass breakup.
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 26-42@ No. 14 USC | 8 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 27-21@ Eastern Michigan | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 30-20vs Cal Poly | 7 | 5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-26vs Fresno State | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-16@ Hawai'i | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-16vs Wyoming | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | L 13-28@ Nevada | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 16-21vs New Mexico | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 38 | 28 | 5.0 | 2.5 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · L 16-21 vs New Mexico, play by play
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.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, 2 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How San José State’s defense played that day
New Mexico’s 10 drives: 7 stopped (3 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 8.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up. His sack on 4th and 2 ended Wyoming’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 10-yard loss on 4th and 2. Second quarter, down 3-0. Ended Wyoming’s drive (downs).
5 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 1-yard loss. Second quarter, up 7-0.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 3, sacks included.
7 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 7, sacks included.
Sacked the quarterback for a 7-yard loss. Second quarter, up 10-6.
5 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
8 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 7 of his 8, sacks included.
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
38tackles this seasonTFL rate
13%5 TFLSack rate
7%2 sacksPD rate
5%2 pass breakups38 tackles · 5 for loss · 2.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 5.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ken Niumatalolo
Pass share
48.8%
282 pass / 296 run
Plays / game
64.2
9 games
Team sack rate
7.1%
311 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Mountain West
Based on 2025: #40 of 45 Mountain West LBs
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%).
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Brent Brennan → Ken Niumatalolo. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
