Jacksonville State · L 26-27
No tackles.
Middle Tennessee · W 44-28
No tackles.
Russell has tackles in 6 of Kennesaw State’s 8 games: none against Jacksonville State and Middle Tennessee.
Kai Russell
One game to point at: 7 tackles and 1 sack against Tennessee — Week 3, 2026.
19 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Kennesaw State | 19 | 10 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Career | 19 | 10 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 47-0vs West Georgia | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 17-31vs Georgia State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 9-42@ No. 15 Tennessee | 7 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 14-17@ Arkansas State | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-24@ Missouri State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 6-34vs Liberty | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 19 | 10 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 3 |
Oct. 22 · L 6-34 vs Liberty, play by play
1 tackle. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 3 passes defended in the 6 games with play by play.
How Kennesaw State’s defense played that day
Liberty’s 10 drives: 4 stopped · 6 scored. While the game was within a score they held 1 of 3.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles, including 1 sack, 2 passes broken up, tied for 4th-most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
Ratings of the games shown run from -17 to +18 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
19tackles this seasonTFL rate
11%2 TFLSack rate
5%1 sackPD rate
16%3 pass breakups19 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 3.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jerry Mack
Pass share
51.0%
256 pass / 246 run
Plays / game
62.8
8 games
Team sack rate
3.8%
292 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
