Mercury Swaim
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Two seasons in the New Mexico linebacker corps to date. One game to point at: 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against North Dakota State — Week 8, 2026.
50 tackles · 1.5 sacks
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
50 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 7.5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
KOB 4 Oct 15Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New Mexico | 50 | 24 | 7.5 | 1.5 | -- |
| 2025 | New Mexico | 52 | 26 | 6.5 | 2.0 | 2 |
| Career | 102 | 50 | 14.0 | 3.5 | 2 |
Last game (Wk 9): 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-7vs Central Michigan | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 70-7vs Mercyhurst | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 6-14@ No. 24 Oklahoma | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 42-18@ New Mexico State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 61-7vs UTEP | 9 | 5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 21-10@ Hawai'i | 7 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-16vs North Dakota State | 11 | 5 | 2.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 21-16@ San José State | 7 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 24 | 7.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 |
Oct. 31 · W 21-16 at San José State, play by play
7 tackles, including 1 more for loss. The pressure he forced on 4th and 5 ended San José State’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Hurried the quarterback on 4th and 5. Fourth quarter, up 21-16. Ended San José State’s drive (downs).
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 7 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 8 games with play by play.
How New Mexico’s defense played that day
San José State’s 10 drives: 7 stopped (2 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 7. His hurry came with New Mexico up 5.
11 tackles, including 2 more for loss, tied for 10th-most tackles for loss in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 12 for him; the box score credits 11.
7 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 11-yard loss on 3rd and 5. Second quarter, down 3-0.
9 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback 3 times.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 8 · 2026
W 21-16
2.5 tackles for loss · 11 tackles · 5 solo tackles
A close one, won by 5 at home.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -24 to +10 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
50tackles this seasonTFL rate
15%8 TFLSack rate
3%2 sacksPD rate
0%0 pass breakups50 tackles · 7.5 for loss · 1.5 sacks.
2 seasons under Jason Eck — 16-5 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 7.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 5.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 9.0 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jason Eck
Pass share
28.9%
142 pass / 349 run
Plays / game
61.4
8 games
Team sack rate
10.6%
180 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Mountain West
Based on 2025: #3 of 13 Mountain West DTs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 49% of returning players who ranked #1–3 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 43–54%).
2026 is in progress.
