UCLA · L 24-45
No tackles.
UNLV · L 31-39
No tackles.
Virginia Tech · W 25-20
No tackles.
Wake Forest · L 7-41
No tackles.
SMU · L 20-59
No tackles.
Wayne has tackles in 4 of California’s 9 games: none in the other 5.
Jayden Wayne
The four seasons span three programs and four head coaches: Mario Cristobal, Jedd Fisch, Justin Wilcox and Tosh Lupoi. On tape: 3 tackles against Clemson, Week 4, 2026.
7 tackles · 1.5 sacks
Play style
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Sports Illustrated Oct 29Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | California | 7 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | California | 26 | 9 | 4.5 | 3.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2024 | Washington | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Miami | 13 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -- | -- |
| Career | 52 | 19 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 1 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 tackle.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 4 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 21-18@ Syracuse | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 49-7vs Wagner | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-24vs Clemson | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-31@ NC State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 |
Oct. 31 · L 10-31 at NC State, play by play
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
How California’s defense played that day
NC State’s 13 drives: 8 stopped (1 takeaway) · 5 scored. While the game was within a score they held 6 of 10.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
0 tackles. He hurried the quarterback twice.
3 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 6-yard loss on 3rd and 8. Fourth quarter, up 21-18.
Week 2 · 2026
W 21-18
at Syracuse
1.5 sacks · 1.5 tackles for loss · 3 tackles
A close one, won by 3 on the road.
Ratings of the games shown run from -3 to +5 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tosh Lupoi
Pass share
61.4%
386 pass / 243 run
Plays / game
69.9
9 games
Team sack rate
3.9%
432 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #30 of 74 ACC 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%).
2026 is in progress.
Played for three programs.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 3 schools: Mario Cristobal, Jedd Fisch, Justin Wilcox and Tosh Lupoi.
