Alabama · L 20-31
2 tackles, 0.5 for loss, 0 sacks
The other 7 games average 4 tackles. This one was 2 below.
As of
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. In Texas A&M's 31-21 home loss to Kentucky, Ratcliffe finished with seven tackles, three of them solo.
Sources
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.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
30 tackles. 1 pass defended. 1 interception. 1 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.
Fans first named Marcus Ratcliffe vs Kentucky.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Texas A&M | 30 | 11 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1 | 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 | 195 | 102 | 9.5 | 0.5 | 5 | 5 |
Last game (Wk 8): 2 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss.
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 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 |
| Wk 3 | L 21-31vs Kentucky | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 6-35@ No. 10 LSU | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-7vs Arkansas | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 6-27@ No. 14 Missouri | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 41-0vs The Citadel | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 20-31@ No. 13 Alabama | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 11 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 |
Oct. 24 · L 20-31 at Alabama, play by play
2 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 5-yard loss. Fourth quarter, down 24-20.
How Texas A&M’s defense played that day
Alabama’s 10 drives: 6 stopped (1 takeaway) · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 9.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception ended LSU’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted. Third quarter, down 28-3. Ended LSU’s drive (int).
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 8 for him; the box score credits 7.
1 tackle, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -17 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
3%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
30tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%1 TFL30 tackles · 1 for loss · 0.5 sacks · 1 pass breakup · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Elko
Pass share
44.8%
243 pass / 299 run
Plays / game
67.8
8 games
Team sack rate
5.1%
277 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #210 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #13 of 28 SEC Ss
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
2026 is in progress.
Honored in a first season.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Brady Hoke and Mike Elko.
