Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-7vs Eastern Illinois | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-38vs Mississippi State | 7 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Total | 10 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#22
Mekhai Smith
Junior defensive back on Minnesota's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 215 lb · Lower Merion, PA · Lower Merion
Returning to Minnesota for 2026
The story
3 defensive back on Minnesota's 2026 roster.
- Signed with Lehigh in 2024.
Mekhai Smith
One game to point at: 7 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Mississippi State — Week 2, 2026.
10 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- game log
His career
2024
- Signed with Lehighout of Lower Merion
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Minnesota
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2026Minnesota1-1HC: P.J. Fleck · Pass-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (10th 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: 5.0 TKL/g, 0.2 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
P.J. Fleck
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Minnesota | 10 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 10 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 59–7
3 TOT · 2 SOLO
Dominant 52-point win at home against Eastern Illinois.
With J. Tracy — 5 rec · 98 yds · D. Lindsey — 264 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 86.2 · 6 rush yds (2 car)
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Minnesota
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Minnesota
Returning around him
- 1 Minnesota player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -1 net (19 in / 20 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Minnesota · Last season: 8-5 · Talent rank #41 · 2026 recruiting class #28
Background
PRONUNCIATION Your browser does not support HTML5 audio. OVERVIEW: Enrolled at Minnesota in January 2026 • spent the 2024-25 seasons at Lehigh. PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Spent two seasons (2024-25) at Lehigh and had 96 tackles, four interceptions, seven pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble reco...
The secondary · Minnesota
- #14Kerry Brown56 tackles · 2025
- #17John Nestor50 tackles · 2025
- #7Aidan Gousby27 tackles · 2025
- #5Aydan West19 tackles · 2025
- #22Mekhai Smith2 games · 2026
16 more on the roster · Minnesota team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology