Genesis Smith: DB · Arizona · #12.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Genesis Smith
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches at Arizona: Jedd Fisch and Brent Brennan. All-Big 12 in 2025 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 16 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Baylor — Week 13, 2025.
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
77 tackles. 8 passes defended. 1 interception. 3 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 40-6vs Hawai'i | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-3vs Weber State | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 23-17vs Kansas State | 8 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 3 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-39@ No. 14 Iowa State | 7 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | W 41-13vs Oklahoma State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 27-33vs No. 18 BYU | 10 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 28-31@ Houston | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 10 | W 52-17@ Colorado | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 24-20vs Kansas | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 30-24@ No. 22 Cincinnati | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 41-17vs Baylor | 16 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 16 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 23-7@ Arizona State | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 77 | 35 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 8 |
Week 3 · 2025
W 23-17
vs Kansas State
0.5 tackles for loss · 8 tackles · 3 pass breakups
A close one, won by 6 at home.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
10%8 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
77tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%3 TFL77 tackles · 3 for loss · 8 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 7.9 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Road5g | 4.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 6.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Brennan
Pass share
49.7%
447 pass / 452 run
Plays / game
69.2
13 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
445 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #73 at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Arizona, 161 tackles — drafted at #131 overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.
A stat line in 35 games over three seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG 12
All-Big 12 mention (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2024)
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2023–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Jedd Fisch → Brent Brennan. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Next stop · NFL
Los Angeles Chargers2026 NFL rookie season
Los Angeles Chargers2026 NFL rookie season
