Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-27vs Boise State | 8 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 31-39@ Oklahoma State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
#10
Matayo Uiagalelei
Matayo Uiagalelei could have left -- a likely first-rounder, the brother of an NFL quarterback. He came back to anchor what might be college football's best defensive line.
6′5″ · 272 lb · Bellflower, CA · St. John Bosco HS
CFB Index 82 · #50 of 583 LBsHigh confidenceReturning to Oregon 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.
The numbers
9
tackles · 2026
1.5 TFL · 1 sacks
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 8 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sacks, vs Boise State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Matayo Uiagalelei could have left -- a likely first-rounder, the brother of an NFL quarterback. He came back to anchor what might be college football's best defensive line.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Oregon in 2023.
Matayo Uiagalelei could have left — a likely first-rounder, the brother of an NFL quarterback. He came back to anchor what might be college football's best defensive line.
The five-star broke out in 2024 (10.5 sacks, first-team All-Big Ten) and stayed productive in 2025 (six sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles), pushing his career total to 18.5 sacks across three seasons. Paired with fellow top-ten edge Teitum Tuioti, he gives Oregon a front that can wreck a game without blitzing — exactly what a national-title defense is built on. The forward stakes are a Playoff run on a roster that returned its quarterback (Dante Moore) and its defensive core. The question for 2026 is whether the sack production climbs back toward its 2024 peak — because if it does, Oregon's defense becomes the problem of the season, and Uiagalelei becomes a first-rounder.
How he plays
Uiagalelei wins with length, power, and a relentless motor more than pure bend — at five-star size he sets a hard edge against the run and converts speed into power against the pass. The production is real and sustained: 10.5 sacks and All-Big-Ten in 2024, 18.5 for his career. The honest note is the 2025 dip — his sack total fell to six even as the disruption held (9.5 tackles for loss), the kind of season where the pressures didn't turn into finishes. In Oregon's loaded front, next to Teitum Tuioti, he doesn't have to carry it alone, which only makes him harder to handle one-on-one. The forward question is simple: do the finishes return to the 2024 level? If they do, he's a first-rounder and the Ducks' defense is a nightmare.
The story
The five-star broke out in 2024 (10.5 sacks, first-team All-Big Ten) and stayed productive in 2025 (six sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles), pushing his career total to 18.5 sacks across three seasons. Paired with fellow top-ten edge Teitum Tuioti, he gives Oregon a front that can wreck a game without blitzing -- exactly what a national-title defense is built on. The forward stakes are a Playoff run on a roster that returned its quarterback (Dante Moore) and its defensive core. The question for 2026 is whether the sack production climbs back toward its 2024 peak -- because if it does, Oregon's defense becomes the problem of the season, and Uiagalelei becomes a first-rounder.
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
Uiagalelei wins with length, power, and a relentless motor more than pure bend -- at five-star size he sets a hard edge against the run and converts speed into power against the pass. The production is real and sustained: 10.5 sacks and All-Big-Ten in 2024, 18.5 for his career. The honest note is the 2025 dip -- his sack total fell to six even as the disruption held (9.5 tackles for loss), the kind of season where the pressures didn't turn into finishes. In Oregon's loaded front, next to Teitum Tuioti, he doesn't have to carry it alone, which only makes him harder to handle one-on-one. The forward question is simple: do the finishes return to the 2024 level? If they do, he's a first-rounder and the Ducks' defense is a nightmare.
Written by our staff.
20239 games
- Signed with Oregon4-star out of St. John Bosco
202413 games
- All-Big Tenfirst
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Oregon
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥈
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coach2023–2026
Oregon
Played his entire career under Dan Lanning.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
4 seasons under Dan Lanning — 39-6 over that span.
2023Oregon12-2HC: Dan Lanning · Balanced
2024Oregon13-1HC: Dan Lanning · Balanced
2025Oregon13-2HC: Dan Lanning · Run-leaning
2026Oregon1-1HC: Dan Lanning · Balanced, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
High confidence
Elite: sacks (87th percentile). Strength: qb hurries (83rd percentile). Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (7)
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: 4.5 TKL/g, 0.8 TFL/g, 0.5 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dan Lanning
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
our read surprisingly productive for a linebacker with no award recognition yet — top-1% tackles behind the line, top-2% passes broken up.2025 profile
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
82 · #50 of 583 LBs
Former four-star. Now #50 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #8 of 72 Big Ten LBs
How the All-Big Ten estimate is computed
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. 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.
One of 52 players who were elite at two different things in 2025. See the others ›
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 34–27
vs Boise State
8 TOT · 1 SOLO · 1 SACKS
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.
With D. Moore — 378 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · -5 rush yds (2 car) · B. Ettridge — 48 AVG · 3 IN 20 · 52 LONG
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Uiagalelei wins with length, power, and a relentless motor more than pure bend -- at five-star size he sets a hard edge against the run and converts speed into power against the pass. The production is real and sustained: 10.5 sacks and All-Big-Ten in 2024, 18.5 for his career. The honest note is the 2025 dip -- his sack total fell to six even as the disruption held (9.5 tackles for loss), the kind of season where the pressures didn't turn into finishes. In Oregon's loaded front, next to Teitum Tuioti, he doesn't have to carry it alone, which only makes him harder to handle one-on-one. The forward question is simple: do the finishes return to the 2024 level? If they do, he's a first-rounder and the Ducks' defense is a nightmare.
Our classifier reads him the same way: fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
2026 Outlook
Oregon
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Oregon
Returning around him
- 7 Oregon players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -18 net (13 in / 31 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Oregon · Last season: 13-2 (AP #5) · Talent rank #3 · 2026 recruiting class #3
DNA match
Player DNA
Thumper
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
LB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to DaMarcus Mitchell’s 2021 season.
56%match
Matches DaMarcus on
Solo tackle rate
Weight
Differs from DaMarcus on
Hurry rate (higher)
Class year (higher)
Height (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Myles Murphy's junior season at Clemson (2022).
79%match
All-ACCNFL Rd 1 · Pk 29
Matches Myles on
Weight
Tackle volume
TFL rate
Differs from Myles on
Hurry rate (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Matayo Uiagalelei
Background
As A Junior (2025) » All-Big Ten honorable mention (coaches, media) » Lombardi Award semifinalist Started all 15 games while helping the Ducks reach the College Football Playoff Semifinal .. Finished with 34 total tackles (18 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, four pass breakups, two forced...
The linebacker corps · Oregon
- #44Teitum Tuioti68 tackles · 2025
- #6Jerry Mixon57 tackles · 2025
- #9Devon Jackson41 tackles · 2025
- #10Matayo Uiagalelei34 tackles · 2025
- #31Nasir Wyatt11 tackles · 2025
15 more on the roster · Oregon team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology