Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-3vs Houston Christian | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Total | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#15
Matthew Aribisala
Senior defensive lineman on Rice's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 308 lb · Cedar Hill, TX · Cedar Hill
Returning to Rice for 2026
The numbers
0
sacks · 2026
3 tackles
1 game into 2026 so far -- Best game: 3 tackles, vs Houston Christian
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman on Rice's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Air Force in 2020.
- Transferred from Sam Houston to Rice in 2025.
Matthew Aribisala
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Across four seasons and two programs, two head coaches: K.C. Keeler and Scott Abell. The receipt: 3 tackles against Houston Christian — Week 1, 2026.
3 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2020
- Signed with Air Force3-star out of Cedar Hill
20255 games
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coaches2023–2024
Rice
2025–2026era →
Scott Abell
Rice
Coaching transition mid-career: Mike Bloomgren → Scott Abell. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023Sam Houston3-9HC: K.C. Keeler · Balanced
2024Sam Houston10-3HC: K.C. Keeler · Run-heavy
2025Rice5-8HC: Scott Abell · Run-heavy
2026Rice1-1HC: Scott Abell · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th 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 1 game: 3.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scott Abell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2023
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Rice | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Rice | 8 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Sam Houston | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Sam Houston | 10 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 26 | 16 | 2.0 | 1.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 31–3
3 TOT · 3 SOLO
Dominant 28-point win at home against Houston Christian.
With Q. Jackson — 61 rush yds (10 car) · 2 TD · C. Durkin — 54 AVG · 54 LONG · 1 NO
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Rice
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Rice
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: -2 net (20 in / 22 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Rice · Last season: 5-8 · Talent rank #100 · 2026 recruiting class #104
DNA match
Player DNA
3-Tech Penetrator
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
IDL
His 2023 production profile sits closest to Jordon Earle’s 2021 season.
Matches Jordon on
Sack rate
TFL rate
Class year
Differs from Jordon on
Hurry rate (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Isaiah Iton's freshman season at Ole Miss (2021).
Matches Isaiah on
TFL rate
Weight
Hurry rate
Differs from Isaiah on
Class year (lower)
Player DNA
Players who play like Matthew Aribisala
Background
Honors American Conference All-Academic 2026 Pronunciation Guide 2025 Played in 11 games and was credited with eight tackles… Credited with a season-high three stops vs. Houston and added a pair vs. Prairie View… Six of his eight tackles came at home. Sam Houston 2024 Saw action in the first four...
The defensive line · Rice
- #57Aquantis Clemmons3.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #16Chibby Nwajuaku3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #92Luca Akirtava2 tackles for loss · 2025
- #2Jo Chavez1.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #15Matthew Aribisala0 tackles for loss · 2025
14 more on the roster · Rice team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology