Mario Easterly
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Fifth year in the same secondary at Old Dominion. A game that shows it: 11 tackles against James Madison — Week 4, 2026.
56 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
56 tackles. 1 pass defended. 1 interception. 1.5 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.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Old Dominion | 56 | 20 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | Old Dominion | 80 | 23 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | Old Dominion | 43 | 21 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | Old Dominion | 13 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Old Dominion | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 195 | 67 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 7 | 2 |
Last game (Wk 9): 7 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-10vs Norfolk State | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 21-44@ Virginia Tech | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-20vs East Carolina | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 20-46vs James Madison | 11 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 10-42@ Georgia State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 10-3@ App State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 15-23vs Georgia Southern | 8 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 0-26@ Louisiana Tech | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 23-36vs Marshall | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 56 | 20 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 |
Oct. 31 · L 23-36 vs Marshall, play by play
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
How Old Dominion’s defense played that day
Marshall’s 16 drives: 8 stopped (1 takeaway) · 8 scored. While the game was within a score they held 2 of 5.
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 13-yard loss on 3rd and 6. Second quarter, down 10-7.
3 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
2 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. 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.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Ratings of the games shown run from -11 to +11 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
2%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
56tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%2 TFL56 tackles · 1.5 for loss · 1 sack · 1 pass breakup · 1 interception.
5 seasons under Ricky Rahne — 26-33 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 7.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 4.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 7.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ricky Rahne
Pass share
43.6%
243 pass / 314 run
Plays / game
61.9
9 games
Team sack rate
13.3%
309 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
56 tackles in 9 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #69 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Sun Belt
Based on 2025: #12 of 42 Sun Belt 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%).
The No. 1,868 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Sun Belt as a redshirt senior.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 43 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Ricky Rahne.
