Mekhi Blackmon: DB · USC · #6.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Mekhi Blackmon
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Played for four head coaches at two programs in five seasons: Kurt Roper, Mel Tucker, Karl Dorrell and Lincoln Riley. The first career honor came in 2022: All-Pac-12. One game to point at: 7 tackles against Washington State — Week 6, 2022.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
52 tackles. 12 passes defended. 3 interceptions. 1.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
247Sports Nov 2
USA Today Nov 1
On3 Oct 21
Yahoo Sports Oct 16Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 14 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 66-14vs Rice | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | W 41-28@ Stanford | 6 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-17vs Fresno State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 17-14@ Oregon State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 42-25vs Arizona State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | W 30-14vs Washington State | 7 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 42-43@ No. 20 Utah | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 45-37@ Arizona | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 10 | W 41-35vs California | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 55-17vs Colorado | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 48-45@ No. 16 UCLA | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 38-27vs No. 13 Notre Dame | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 24-47vs No. 12 Utah | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
 Bowl | L 45-46vs No. 14 Tulane | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 52 | 38 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 12 |
Week 12 · 2022
W 48-45
at UCLA
1 interception · 8 tackles · 1 pass breakup
Edged out UCLA on the road in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
23%12 pass breakupsInterceptions
3interceptionsTackle volume
52tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%2 TFL52 tackles · 1.5 for loss · 12 pass breakups · 3 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 14 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| Road5g | 4.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
52.6%
513 pass / 462 run
Plays / game
69.6
14 games
Team sack rate
5.4%
559 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2022
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #21 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Colorado and USC, 128 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2022) — drafted at #102 overall by the Minnesota Vikings.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-PAC-12 · 1ST TEAM
All-Pac-12 1st team (2022)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2022
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Mike MacIntyre, Mel Tucker, Karl Dorrell and Lincoln Riley.
Next stop · NFL
Minnesota VikingsEntering 4th NFL season
Minnesota VikingsEntering 4th NFL season
