Jalen Smith

Senior linebacker for Hawai'i. 2025: 54 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.

LB · Hawai'i · Sr. · #3

6′0″ · 220 lb · Bakersfield, CA

CFB Index 43 · #357 of 583 LBsHigh confidenceReturning to Hawai'i for 2026

How he plays

Is steady in every phase without a signature trait.

Tackles: 83rd percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

tackles · 2025

2.5 TFL · 1 sacks · 2 PBU

Best game: 4 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sacks, vs Wyoming

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 linebacker for Hawai'i. 2025: 54 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.

His career, year by year

Jalen Smith

LB · Hawai'i · Sr · #3

Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. This is his third year in the same linebacker corps at Hawai'i. One game to point at: 8 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Colorado State — Week 8, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
seasons on the roster
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Timmy Chang — 19-19 over that span.

2023Hawai'i5-8HC: Timmy Chang · Pass-heavy

2024Hawai'i5-7HC: Timmy Chang · Pass-leaning

2025Hawai'i9-4HC: Timmy Chang · Pass-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

43Rotational starter #357 of 583?

High confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles (83rd percentile). Concern: qb hurries (22nd percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Tackles#500 / 2975 · 83rd pct

Solo tackles#839 / 2975 · 71st pct

Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct

Sacks#847 / 2975 · 63rd pct

1.0

Tackles for loss#1222 / 2975 · 56th pct

2.5

Forced fumbles#36 / 687 · 47th pct

QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct

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 & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	4.4	0.3	0.1	0.3
Road5g	4.6	0.1	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-78g	4.2	0.1	0.0	0.2
Weeks 8+4g	5.0	0.5	0.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

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.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Part-time starter

Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

43 · #357 of 583 LBs

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-Mountain West

Based on 2025: #24 of 45 Mountain West LBs

How the All-Mountain West estimate is computed

15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Hawai'i	54	23	2.5	1.0	2	--	--
2024	Hawai'i	41	25	4.0	1.0	1	1	--
2023	Hawai'i	65	39	9.0	1.5	1	--	--
Career		160	87	15.5	3.5	4	1	--

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 23-20vs Stanford	6	3	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 1	L 6-40@ Arizona	4	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	W 37-20vs Sam Houston	5	2	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 3	W 23-3vs Portland State	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	L 21-23vs Fresno State	5	1	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	W 44-35@ Air Force	3	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	W 44-26vs Utah State	4	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 8	W 31-19@ Colorado State	8	2	0.5	0.0	—	0	Season-high 8 tackles
Wk 10	L 38-45@ San José State	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	L 10-38@ UNLV	7	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 14	W 27-7vs Wyoming	4	2	1.5	1.0	—	0
Bowl	W 35-31vs California	4	3	0.0	0.0	—	1
Total		54	23	2.5	1.0	—	2