Josh Ward: DE · Akron · #8.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Josh Ward
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Played for two head coaches at Akron: Terry Bowden and Tom Arth. A game that shows it: 6 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against UAB — Week 2, 2019.
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
47 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 4 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.
Akron Beacon Journal Oct 20Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2019 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 3-42@ Illinois | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 20-31vs UAB | 6 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 24-45@ Central Michigan | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 7-35vs Troy | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 29-37@ Massachusetts | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 3-26vs Kent State | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 0-21vs Buffalo | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 0-49@ Northern Illinois | 5 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 6-35@ Bowling Green | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 14-42vs Eastern Michigan | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 17-20@ Miami (OH) | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 3-52vs Ohio | 7 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Total | 47 | 17 | 4.0 | 2.5 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
5%2 sacksTFL rate
9%4 TFLHurry rate
4%2 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
56%2 of 4 pressures47 tackles · 4 for loss · 2.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2019 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 3.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tom Arth
Pass share
55.1%
397 pass / 323 run
Plays / game
60.0
12 games
Team sack rate
12.6%
467 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2019
47 tackles in 12 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Akron, 8 sacks — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2016–2019
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Terry Bowden → Tom Arth. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
