Jay Kakiva: DL · San José State · #96.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Jay Kakiva
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move. Four seasons in the San José State defensive front to date. On tape: 9 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Air Force, Week 4, 2023.
Play style
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
43 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 6.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | San José State | 43 | 16 | 6.5 | 2.5 |
| 2022 | San José State | 10 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| 2021 | San José State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2020 | San José State | 17 | 7 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Career | 73 | 28 | 8.0 | 3.0 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 28-56@ No. 6 USC | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | L 17-42vs No. 18 Oregon State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 59-3vs Cal Poly | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-21@ Toledo | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 20-45vs Air Force | 9 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 27-35@ Boise State | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 52-24@ New Mexico | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 42-21vs Utah State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-18vs Fresno State | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 24-13vs San Diego State | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 37-31@ UNLV | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 14-24vs Coastal Carolina | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 43 | 16 | 6.5 | 2.5 | — | 0 |
Week 11 · 2023
W 42-18
vs Fresno State
1 sack · 1.5 tackles for loss · 5 tackles
Dominant 24-point win at home against Fresno State.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
15%6 TFLSack rate
6%2 sacksHurry rate
0%0 hurries43 tackles · 6.5 for loss · 2.5 sacks.
4 seasons under Brent Brennan — 26-19 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 2.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 3.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 4.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Brennan
Pass share
47.6%
375 pass / 412 run
Plays / game
60.5
13 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
397 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2023
43 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #45 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at San José State, 3 sacks — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 25 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2023
1 coachPlayed every college season under Brent Brennan.
