Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 49-3vs Alcorn State | 8 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 8-43@ Auburn | 7 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 |
#13
Mathis Haygood
Junior linebacker for Southern Miss. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
6′4″ · 230 lb · Fayetteville, GA · Sandy Creek HS
CFB Index 49 · #298 of 583 LBsHigh confidenceReturning to Southern Miss 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.
How he plays
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait.
Tackles for loss: 91st percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
15
tackles · 2026
2.5 TFL · 0.5 sacks
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 7 tackles, 2 TFL, at Auburn
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 linebacker for Southern Miss. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
- Signed with Marshall in 2023.
- Transferred from Marshall to Southern Miss in 2025.
Mathis Haygood
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Mathis Haygood has been at Southern Miss through two head coaches in two seasons. One game to point at: 8 tackles, 0.5 sacks against Alcorn State — Week 1, 2026.
15 TACKLES · 0.5 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with Marshallout of Sandy Creek
202513 games
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Southern Miss
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coaches2025
Southern Miss
Coaching transition mid-career: Charles Huff → Blake Anderson. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2025Southern Miss7-6HC: Charles Huff · Balanced
2026Southern Miss1-1HC: Blake Anderson · Run-leaning, fast tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
High confidence
Elite: tackles for loss (91st percentile). Strength: qb hurries (83rd 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: 7.5 TKL/g, 1.2 TFL/g, 0.2 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Blake Anderson
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Sun Belt
Based on 2025: #29 of 63 Sun Belt LBs
How the All-Sun Belt estimate is computed
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. 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 | Southern Miss | 15 | 5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Southern Miss | 44 | 17 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 59 | 22 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 49–3
vs Alcorn State
8 TOT · 0 SACKS · 0 TFL
Dominant 46-point win at home against Alcorn State.
With M. Johnson — 13 rush yds (1 car) · E. Hampton — 180 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · 15 rush yds (3 car)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Southern Miss
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Southern Miss
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +10 net (38 in / 28 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Southern Miss · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #94 · 2026 recruiting class #108
DNA match
Player DNA
Balanced Linebacker
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
LB
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Brandon Hughes’s 2016 season.
Matches Brandon on
TFL rate
Solo tackle rate
Hurry rate
Differs from Brandon on
Sack rate (higher)
Height (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Jaylen Harrell's sophomore season at Michigan (2021).
78%match
NFL Rd 7
Matches Jaylen on
Height
Hurry rate
Weight
Differs from Jaylen on
Class year (lower)
Sack rate (higher)
Background
2025 (R-So.): Appeared in all 13 games with a start against South Alabama (11/22)…Tallied 44 tackles (17 solo) with four tackles for loss and a sack…Added an interception against App State (9/13), which he returned 18 yards…Posted a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry…Tallied season-high 11 tack...
The linebacker corps · Southern Miss
- #53Joseph Harper50 tackles · 2025
- #42Melvin Spriggs45 tackles · 2025
- #13Mathis Haygood44 tackles · 2025
- #33Avery Sledge15 tackles · 2025
- #32Peyton Anderson1 tackle · 2025
9 more on the roster · Southern Miss team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology