Junior safety on USC's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 200 lb · Chandler, AZ · Chandler HS / Notre Dame
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
S recruit
No. 643 nationally · Signed with Notre Dame
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 safety on USC's 2026 roster.
Kennedy Urlacher
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Across three seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Marcus Freeman and Lincoln Riley. The receipt: 3 tackles against San José State — Week 1, 2026.
7 TACKLES · 2 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Lincoln Riley.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: sacks (97th percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (85th percentile). Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
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 · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
46.0%
97 pass / 114 run
Plays / game
70.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.0%
102 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Three-star recruit. Now #315 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #9 of 15 Big Ten Ss
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | USC | 7 | 7 | 2.0 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | USC | 27 | 23 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 12 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 46 | 37 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 49–30
vs Louisiana
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-26vs San José State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 1 | W 39-0vs Fresno State | 3 | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 49-30vs Louisiana | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 7 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
USC
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · USC
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
USC · Last season: 9-4 (AP #16) · Talent rank #9 · 2026 recruiting class #1
Player DNA
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Ashton Whitner’s 2024 season.
Matches Ashton on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Israel Boyce's sophomore season at West Virginia (2025).
Matches Israel on
Player DNA
2026: Urlacher will compete for playing time at safety as a junior in 2026. 2025: Urlacher, who transferred from Notre Dame in the summer of 2025, saw action in all 13 games with 3 starts (Oregon, UCLA and the Alamo Bowl against TCU) at safety as a sophomore in 2025. He recorded 26 tackles, inclu...
17 more on the roster · USC team page