MJ Tafisi: LB · Utah State · #2.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
MJ Tafisi
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. The six seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Chris Petersen, Jimmy Lake and Blake Anderson. Named All-Mountain West two seasons running, most recently in 2023. One game to point at: 17 tackles against Fresno State — Week 7, 2023.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
142 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 8.5 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.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Utah State | 142 | 55 | 8.5 | 0.0 | 1 |
| 2022 | Utah State | 69 | 27 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2021 | Washington | 20 | 12 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 |
| 2020 | Washington | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- |
| 2019 | Washington | 13 | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2018 | Washington | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 249 | 108 | 17.0 | 2.0 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-24@ No. 25 Iowa | 12 | 8 | 3.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 3.0 TFL |
| Wk 2 | W 78-28vs Idaho State | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 21-39@ Air Force | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 38-45vs James Madison | 7 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-33@ UConn | 13 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 44-24vs Colorado State | 9 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 32-37vs Fresno State | 17 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 17 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 21-42@ San José State | 14 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 32-24@ San Diego State | 13 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 41-24vs Nevada | 12 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 10-45vs Boise State | 12 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 44-41@ New Mexico | 11 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 22-45vs Georgia State | 11 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 142 | 55 | 8.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
142tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%8 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
1%1 pass breakups142 tackles · 8.5 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 9.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road6g | 12.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 10.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 12.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Blake Anderson
Pass share
46.8%
436 pass / 495 run
Plays / game
71.6
13 games
Team sack rate
8.3%
470 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #148 at the position.
How it ended
Six seasons, at Washington and Utah State, 249 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2023) — the college career is complete.
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-MOUNTAIN WEST · 1ST TEAM
All-Mountain West 1st team (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2018–2023
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Chris Petersen, Jimmy Lake, Bob Gregory and Blake Anderson.
