2026 games, tackles for loss per game. W and L: the team’s results.
Justin Stearns
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Played for two head coaches at San José State: Brent Brennan and Ken Niumatalolo. A game that shows it: 8 tackles against Wyoming — Week 6, 2026.
31 tackles · 4 sacks
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
31 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 5.5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, 4 of them sacks, in the 9 games with play by play.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San José State | 31 | 20 | 5.5 | 4.0 |
| 2025 | San José State | 25 | 8 | 2.5 | 0.5 |
| 2024 | San José State | 28 | 12 | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| 2023 | San José State | 8 | 6 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 92 | 46 | 14.5 | 6.5 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 tackle.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 26-42@ No. 14 USC | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 27-21@ Eastern Michigan | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 30-20vs Cal Poly | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-26vs Fresno State | 5 | 3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-16@ Hawai'i | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-16vs Wyoming | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 7 | W 24-11@ UTEP | 6 | 4 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 8 | L 13-28@ Nevada | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 16-21vs New Mexico | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 31 | 20 | 5.5 | 4.0 | — | 0 |
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -24 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
18%6 TFLSack rate
13%4 sacksHurry rate
19%6 hurries31 tackles · 5.5 for loss · 4 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 3.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ken Niumatalolo
Pass share
48.8%
282 pass / 296 run
Plays / game
64.2
9 games
Team sack rate
7.1%
311 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
31 tackles in 9 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 #32 at the position.
The No. 1,470 recruit in the country is starting on the defensive line in the Mountain West as a redshirt senior.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 35 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Brent Brennan → Ken Niumatalolo. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
