Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 50-0vs Missouri State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-20vs Arizona State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Total | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#3
Marcus Ratcliffe
Marcus Ratcliffe allowed almost nothing -- a nation-low 0.1 yards per coverage snap -- and graded among the SEC's best safeties. He's the quiet do-everything piece who makes Texas A&M's secondary work.
6′3″ · 211 lb · Chula Vista, CA · Cathedral Catholic
CFB Index 51 · #262 of 544 safetiesMedium confidenceReturning to Texas A&M for 2026
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
3★
S recruit
No. 958 nationally · Signed with San Diego State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Marcus Ratcliffe allowed almost nothing -- a nation-low 0.1 yards per coverage snap -- and graded among the SEC's best safeties. He's the quiet do-everything piece who makes Texas A&M's secondary work.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to San Diego State in 2023.
- Transferred from San Diego State to Texas A&M in 2024.
Marcus Ratcliffe allowed almost nothing — a nation-low 0.1 yards per coverage snap — and graded among the SEC's best safeties. He's the quiet do-everything piece who makes Texas A&M's secondary work.
Ratcliffe's 2025 was a study in all-around excellence that doesn't always make highlight reels: 65 tackles, an 80.3 PFF grade (sixth among SEC safeties), and a nation-low 0.1 yards allowed per coverage snap, with plus marks in man coverage, zone, and run support alike. He cut his missed-tackle rate roughly in half year over year. On3 slots him a way-too-early second-team All-American and No. 57 in its top 100. The forward stakes are recognition: he's a physical, do-it-all safety whose tape already reads first-team All-SEC, and 2026 is the year the production earns the name. For Texas A&M, he's the versatile back-end piece that makes everyone around him better.
How he plays
Ratcliffe is a physical, do-everything safety — the rare back-end player who grades plus in man coverage, zone, and run support all at once. The standout number is the coverage stinginess: a nation-low 0.1 yards allowed per coverage snap, the mark of a safety who simply doesn't give up completions on his side. At a long frame with top-down tackling, he's equally comfortable in the box and over the top, and he cut his missed tackles roughly in half year over year — a sign of a player rounding into reliability. He's not a flashy gambler; he's the steady, versatile eraser a defense can deploy anywhere, the quiet kind of star.
The story
Ratcliffe's 2025 was a study in all-around excellence that doesn't always make highlight reels: 65 tackles, an 80.3 PFF grade (sixth among SEC safeties), and a nation-low 0.1 yards allowed per coverage snap, with plus marks in man coverage, zone, and run support alike. He cut his missed-tackle rate roughly in half year over year. On3 slots him a way-too-early second-team All-American and No. 57 in its top 100. The forward stakes are recognition: he's a physical, do-it-all safety whose tape already reads first-team All-SEC, and 2026 is the year the production earns the name. For Texas A&M, he's the versatile back-end piece that makes everyone around him better.
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
Ratcliffe is a physical, do-everything safety -- the rare back-end player who grades plus in man coverage, zone, and run support all at once. The standout number is the coverage stinginess: a nation-low 0.1 yards allowed per coverage snap, the mark of a safety who simply doesn't give up completions on his side. At a long frame with top-down tackling, he's equally comfortable in the box and over the top, and he cut his missed tackles roughly in half year over year -- a sign of a player rounding into reliability. He's not a flashy gambler; he's the steady, versatile eraser a defense can deploy anywhere, the quiet kind of star.
Written by our staff.
202312 games
- Signed with San Diego State3-star out of Cathedral Catholic
202413 games
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎓
FRESHMAN HONORS
Freshman recognition (2023)
1 mention(s)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coaches2023
Elijah Robinson
Texas A&M
Coaching transition mid-career: Elijah Robinson → Mike Elko. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023San Diego State4-8HC: Brady Hoke · Run-leaning
2024Texas A&M8-5HC: Mike Elko · Run-leaning
2025Texas A&M11-2HC: Mike Elko · Run-leaning
2026Texas A&M2-0HC: Mike Elko · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
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: 4.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Elko
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Starter
Tackle volume for the position at a full-time starter's level.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
51 · #262 of 544 safeties
Three-star recruit. Now #262 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #13 of 28 SEC Ss
How the All-SEC estimate is computed
22% estimated, 95% confidence interval 19–25%. 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.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Texas A&M | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Texas A&M | 66 | 33 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Texas A&M | 48 | 28 | 3.5 | 0.0 | -- | 3 | -- |
| 2023 | San Diego State | 51 | 30 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 173 | 95 | 8.5 | 0.0 | 5 | 4 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 48–20
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Ratcliffe is a physical, do-everything safety -- the rare back-end player who grades plus in man coverage, zone, and run support all at once. The standout number is the coverage stinginess: a nation-low 0.1 yards allowed per coverage snap, the mark of a safety who simply doesn't give up completions on his side. At a long frame with top-down tackling, he's equally comfortable in the box and over the top, and he cut his missed tackles roughly in half year over year -- a sign of a player rounding into reliability. He's not a flashy gambler; he's the steady, versatile eraser a defense can deploy anywhere, the quiet kind of star.
Our classifier reads him the same way: plays like an extra linebacker near the line.
2026 Outlook
Texas A&M
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Texas A&M
Returning around him
- 10 Texas A&M players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -2 net (19 in / 21 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Texas A&M · Last season: 11-2 (AP #7) · Talent rank #7 · 2026 recruiting class #10
DNA match
Player DNA
Box Safety
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Tra Fluellen’s 2023 season.
92%match
All-Conference USA
Matches Tra on
PD rate
Tackle volume
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Christian Pierce's junior season at USC (2025).
Matches Christian on
PD rate
TFL rate
Tackle volume
Player DNA
Players who play like Marcus Ratcliffe
Background
2026: Returning starting safety … in 38 career games (35 starts), has registered 163 tackles, 7.5 TFL, four INTs, four PBUs, one caused fumble, four QB hurries and one blocked kick … posted 30 games with 3+ tackles and 18 contests with 5+ tackles, including a career-best eight on three occasions...
The secondary · Texas A&M
- #4Tawfiq Byard78 tackles · 2025
- #3Marcus Ratcliffe66 tackles · 2025
- #7Dalton Brooks61 tackles · 2025
- #2Dezz Ricks26 tackles · 2025
- #8Jordan Shaw18 tackles · 2025
20 more on the roster · Texas A&M team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology