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 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 10-28@ UCLA | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Total | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#18
Kai Wallin
Senior defensive lineman on Oregon State's 2026 roster.
6′5″ · 247 lb · Sacramento, CA
Transferred Oregon State for 2026
The numbers
0
sacks · 2026
5 tackles · 1 hurries
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 4 tackles, at UCLA
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman on Oregon State's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Nebraska in 2023.
- Transferred from Oregon State to San Diego State in 2026.
Kai Wallin
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. Across four seasons and three programs, three head coaches: Matt Rhule, Trent Bray and Sean Lewis. One game to point at: 4 tackles against UCLA — Week 2, 2026.
5 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with Nebraska3-star out of American River C.C.
20257 games
The role got bigger.
- Entered the portal
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
3 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coaches2023
Oregon State
2024–2025era →
Trent Bray
Oregon State
2026era →
JaMarcus Shephard
Oregon State
Played under 3 different head coaches: Jonathan Smith, Trent Bray, and JaMarcus Shephard. Multi-era developmental context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Oregon State
2025Oregon State
2026Oregon State
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023Nebraska5-7HC: Matt Rhule · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2024Nebraska7-6HC: Matt Rhule · Balanced
2025Oregon State2-10HC: Trent Bray · Balanced
2026San Diego State1-1HC: Sean Lewis · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: qb hurries (83rd percentile). Concern: tackles (0th 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: 2.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
JaMarcus Shephard
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San Diego State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Oregon State | 17 | 9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Nebraska | 4 | -- | 0.5 | 0.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 27 | 13 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Thumper
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
IDL
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Donovan Branch’s 2024 season.
Matches Donovan on
TFL rate
Differs from Donovan on
PD rate (lower)
Hurry rate (higher)
Height (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Desmond Umeozulu's junior season at South Carolina (2025).
Matches Desmond on
TFL rate
Weight
Height
Differs from Desmond on
Hurry rate (higher)
PD rate (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Kai Wallin
The defensive line · San Diego State
- #56August Salvati3.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #90Sam Benjamin3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #91Amari Comier2.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #18Kai Wallin2 tackles for loss · 2025
- #91Djibril Abdou Rahman1 tackle for loss · 2025
20 more on the roster · San Diego State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology