Former linebacker at Hawai'i. 2018: 82 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.
6′4″ · 245 lb · Redondo Beach, CA
Recruiting
ATH recruit
No. 2648 nationally · Signed with Hawai'i
Statement game14 tackles · 3 TFL · 1 sackat San José State (FBS) · W 44-41
Top 1% tackles game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former linebacker at Hawai'i. 2018: 82 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.
Jahlani Tavai
Four seasons at Hawai'i, two different head coaches: Chris Naeole and Nick Rolovich. The receipt on tape: 15 tackles against Army, Week 3, 2018.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Hawai'i, 334 tackles — drafted at #43 overall by Detroit.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2015–2018
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Chris Naeole → Nick Rolovich. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
DetroitEntering 8th NFL season
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: tackles (94th percentile). Strength: solo tackles (90th 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
2018 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 8.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 13.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 11.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 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 · 2018
Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 4 · 2018
W 42–21
vs Duquesne
11 TOT · 4 SOLO · 1 TFL
Dominant 21-point win at home against Duquesne.
With C. McDonald — 273 yds · 5 TD · 1 INT · 56 rush yds (12 car) · D. Furuta — 114 rush yds (12 car)
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-41vs Navy | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 43-29vs Rice | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 3 | L 21-28@ Army | 15 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 15 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 42-21vs Duquesne | 11 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 44-41@ San José State | 14 | 7 | 3.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 3.0 TFL |
| Wk 6 | W 17-13vs Wyoming | 8 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 23-49@ BYU | 11 | 8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 22-40vs Nevada | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 82 | 42 | 5.5 | 2.0 | — | 2 |
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
82 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 5.5 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.
Player DNA