Freshman defensive end on USC's 2026 roster.
6′6″ · 265 lb · Middletown, NJ · The Hun School of Princeton
How he plays
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack.
Passes defended: 77th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
sacks · 2026
1.5 TFL · 11 tackles
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 1 TFL, 7 tackles, vs Louisiana
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
1 defensive end on USC's 2026 roster.
Buzz vs Tape
Every angle we can check here reads about where you'd expect this season.
Luke Wafle
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. The receipt: 7 tackles, 1 TFL against Louisiana — Week 2, 2026.
11 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Badges
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (27th 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 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 3.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
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 · 2026
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | USC | 11 | 8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 11 | 8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 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 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 1 | W 39-0vs Fresno State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-30vs Louisiana | 7 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Total | 11 | 8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
USC
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive end · 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
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Josh King’s 2016 season.
Matches Josh on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Cedric Works's freshman season at Kentucky (2025).
Matches Cedric on
2026: Wafle, who enrolled at USC in the spring of 2026 after graduating a semester early from high school, looks to compete for playing time at defensive end as a true freshman in 2026. HIGH SCHOOL: Wafle, a five-star recruit, was ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the nation by On3/Rivals. He was ra...
16 more on the roster · USC team page