Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 53-20vs Portland State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 10-28@ UCLA | 8 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Total | 13 | 12 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#20
Jelani McLaughlin
Junior safety on San Diego State's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 205 lb · San Jacinto, CA · Citrus Valley High
Returning to San Diego State for 2026
Recruiting
3★
S recruit
No. 1803 nationally · Signed with San Diego State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 safety on San Diego State's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to San Diego State in 2023.
Jelani McLaughlin
Third year in the San Diego State secondary, same address the whole way. The receipt on tape: 8 tackles against UCLA, Week 2, 2026.
13 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with San Diego State3-star out of Citrus Valley
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
San Diego State
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
San Diego State
Played his entire career under Sean Lewis.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Sean Lewis — 13-14 over that span.
2024San Diego State3-9HC: Sean Lewis · Run-leaning
2025San Diego State9-4HC: Sean Lewis · Run-heavy
2026San Diego State1-1HC: Sean Lewis · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: solo tackles (94th percentile). Concern: tackles for loss (20th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 splits
Through 2 games: 6.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Sean Lewis
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San Diego State | 13 | 12 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | San Diego State | 10 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | San Diego State | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 30 | 22 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 53–20
5 TOT · 4 SOLO · 1 PD
Dominant 33-point win at home against Portland State.
With J. Hawkins — 1 TD · 47 AVG · 100 LONG · J. Denegal — 137 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · 21 rush yds (3 car)
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
San Diego State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · San Diego State
Returning around him
- 1 San Diego State player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +0 net (26 in / 26 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
San Diego State · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #89 · 2026 recruiting class #83
The secondary · San Diego State
- #30Jalen Thomeson86 tackles · 2025
- #9Dalesean Staley70 tackles · 2025
- #6Eric Butler39 tackles · 2025
- #24Josiah Cox15 tackles · 2025
- #20Jelani McLaughlin10 tackles · 2025
22 more on the roster · San Diego State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology