Colorado · L 24-27
5 tackles, 1 for loss
The other 7 games average 4 tackles. This one was 1 above.
As of
The Powers story has always been about the gap between what he was supposed to be and what he'd actually gotten to do. He landed at Ohio State as the No. 61 overall prospect in the 2022 class, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound four-star, and then spent three seasons stuck behind veterans, his career highlight a 29-yard pick-six against Akron in a season opener. In December 2024 he became the first Buckeye to hit the portal, telling anyone who'd listen he just wanted to play.
Kansas State won that recruiting battle over Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin, and 2025 was the first time the bet paid anything back: he appeared in all 12 games, earned his first career start against Army, and finished with 21 tackles and 1.5 for loss across 189 defensive snaps, plus Academic All-Big 12 honors. Useful, not yet decisive. With Austin Romaine and Desmond Purnell locked in at Mike and Sam, the projection now is that Powers slides into the open Will spot.
That's the whole offseason question in Manhattan. The talent was never the doubt — the snaps were. He has two seasons of eligibility and, for the first time in his career, a starting job that isn't blocked by an entrenched veteran. 2026 is where the four-star label either becomes production or stays a recruiting footnote.
In Kansas State's 31-26 loss at Cincinnati, Powers finished with nine tackles, six of them solo.
Sources
Play style
A long, rangy WILL linebacker built more like a big nickel than a thumper — 6-foot-4 and around 230-237 pounds, with the length and movement skills that made him a four-star and the kind of body that shows up in coverage and in chase. The one play that travels is the pick-six, which fits the profile: instincts and ball skills more than downhill violence. His 2025 K-State tape was a rotation player's tape — 21 tackles, 1.5 for loss over 189 snaps, plus heavy special-teams duty — so the read is a developmental athlete with the frame and the range to start, who still needs to prove he can hold up snap-to-snap as a full-time defender rather than a situational piece.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
34 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 4.5 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 | Kansas State | 34 | 24 | 4.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Kansas State | 21 | 10 | 1.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 7 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 67 | 44 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss.
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 | W 71-3vs Nicholls | 5 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 34-7vs Washington State | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 31-20vs Tulane | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 26-31@ Cincinnati | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 16-35vs No. 22 Houston | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 35-24vs Kansas | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 17-28@ Arizona State | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-27@ Colorado | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 24 | 4.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Oct. 31 · L 24-27 at Colorado, play by play
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
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 — 4 tackles for loss, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Kansas State’s defense played that day
Colorado’s 12 drives: 8 stopped (1 takeaway) · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 8 of 12.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 2 for him; the box score credits 1.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 8 of his 9, sacks included.
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 3 of his 4, sacks included.
Forced a fumble. Second quarter, up 17-7.
4 tackles. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles, including 2 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 6 for him; the box score credits 5.
Week 1 · 2026
W 71-3
vs Nicholls
2 tackles for loss · 5 tackles · 2 solo tackles
Dominant 68-point win at home against Nicholls.
Ratings of the games shown run from -14 to +13 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
34tackles this seasonTFL rate
13%4 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
0%0 pass breakups34 tackles · 4.5 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 6.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Collin Klein
Pass share
47.0%
263 pass / 296 run
Plays / game
69.9
8 games
Team sack rate
3.8%
287 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
Former four-star. Now #383 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #72 of 73 Big 12 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%).
Returning starter at defensive back for a 6-6 Kansas State team that went -6 in the portal.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 26 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Ryan Day, Chris Klieman and Collin Klein.
