Auburn · W 45-15
8 tackles, 1 for loss
The other 7 games average 6 tackles. This one was 2 above.
“Keaton Thomas was just spectating on that play”
Keaton Thomas
Keaton Thomas arrives at Ole Miss with a new fit to prove and an old chapter closed.
3★ · NATIONAL RECRUIT
No.63
recruiting national rank
Ole Miss fans keep putting the player's case on trial, week to week.
Minority viewA vocal minority sees it the other way.
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04
Play style
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
51 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 3.5 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.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 41-38vs No. 24 Louisville | 8 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 41-9vs Charlotte | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 32-24vs No. 7 LSU | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 28-52@ No. 21 Florida | 11 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 6 | W 52-17@ Vanderbilt | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 31-3vs No. 13 Missouri | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 27-34@ No. 19 Texas | 8 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 45-15vs Auburn | 8 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 51 | 21 | 3.5 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 45-15 vs Auburn, play by play
8 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up. The fumble he forced ended Auburn’s drive (fumble).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 7 of his 8, sacks included.
Forced a fumble. Second quarter, up 7-6. Ended Auburn’s drive (fumble).
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 3 tackles for loss, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Ole Miss’s defense played that day
Auburn’s 10 drives: 7 stopped (2 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 6. His forced fumble came with Ole Miss up 1.
8 tackles. He hurried the quarterback 3 times.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 9 for him; the box score credits 8.
5 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 4 of his 5, sacks included.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
11 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 12 for him; the box score credits 11.
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 3 of his 4, sacks included.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 7 of his 8, sacks included.
Week 9 · 2026
W 45-15
vs Auburn
1 tackle for loss · 8 tackles · 1 pass breakup
Dominant 30-point win at home against Auburn.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
51tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%4 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
4%2 pass breakups51 tackles · 3.5 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 5.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 7.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 8.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pete Golding
Pass share
53.5%
305 pass / 265 run
Plays / game
71.2
8 games
Team sack rate
1.5%
330 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
2026 is in progress.
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG 12 · 2ND TEAM
All-Big 12 2nd team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Dave Aranda and Pete Golding.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Ole Miss
