Mario Thompson
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Fourth year in the same linebacker corps at Old Dominion. A game that shows it: 11 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Virginia Tech — Week 2, 2026.
59 tackles · 2 sacks
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
59 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 7 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Old Dominion | 59 | 21 | 7.0 | 2.0 | -- |
| 2025 | Old Dominion | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| 2024 | Old Dominion | 66 | 29 | 10.0 | 4.5 | 1 |
| 2023 | Old Dominion | 43 | 18 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 2 |
| Career | 177 | 72 | 22.5 | 8.5 | 4 |
Last game (Wk 9): 6 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-10vs Norfolk State | 8 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 21-44@ Virginia Tech | 11 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 17-20vs East Carolina | 9 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 20-46vs James Madison | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 10-42@ Georgia State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 10-3@ App State | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 15-23vs Georgia Southern | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 0-26@ Louisiana Tech | 9 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 23-36vs Marshall | 6 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 21 | 7.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Oct. 31 · L 23-36 vs Marshall, play by play
6 tackles, including 1 sack. 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 12-yard loss on 3rd and 14. Fourth quarter, down 36-23.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 7 tackles for loss, 2 of them sacks, in the 9 games with play by play.
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.
9 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles, including 2 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
9 tackles, including 1 sack. He hurried the quarterback twice.
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 on 3rd and 10. Second quarter, down 7-0.
11 tackles.
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 -11 to +11 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
59tackles this seasonTFL rate
12%7 TFLSack rate
3%2 sacksPD rate
0%0 pass breakups59 tackles · 7 for loss · 2 sacks.
4 seasons under Ricky Rahne — 23-24 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 6.2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 6.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 7.5 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 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
59 tackles in 9 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #84 at the position.
The No. 2,357 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the Sun Belt as a redshirt junior.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 36 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Ricky Rahne.
