Elon · W 34-7 · FCS
5 tackles, 0.5 for loss
Sam Mattingly
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Played for three head coaches at Stanford: Troy Taylor, Frank Reich and Tavita Pritchard. On tape: 11 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Notre Dame, Week 6, 2026.
56 tackles · 0.5 sacks
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
56 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 2.5 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.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 7 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 37-27vs Hawai'i | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | L 6-45vs No. 7 Miami | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 7-35@ Duke | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 34-27vs Georgia Tech | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 3-57@ Wake Forest | 8 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 7-58@ No. 3 Notre Dame | 11 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 7 | W 34-7vs Elon | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 31-28vs NC State | 10 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-52@ Louisville | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 56 | 24 | 2.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 |
Oct. 31 · L 24-52 at Louisville, play by play
7 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 2 tackles for loss, in the 9 games with play by play.
How Stanford’s defense played that day
Louisville’s 12 drives: 5 stopped (1 takeaway) · 7 scored. While the game was within a score they held 4 of 9. His hurry came with Stanford down 7.
10 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 11 for him; the box score credits 10.
5 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
11 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 12 for him; the box score credits 11.
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 4, sacks included.
Ratings of the games shown run from -10 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
56tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%2 TFLSack rate
1%0 sacksPD rate
2%1 pass breakups56 tackles · 2.5 for loss · 0.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 8.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 8.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tavita Pritchard
Pass share
54.7%
320 pass / 265 run
Plays / game
65.0
9 games
Team sack rate
4.2%
358 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #245 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #72 of 74 ACC LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
The No. 1,034 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the ACC as a junior.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 22 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Troy Taylor, Frank Reich, and Tavita Pritchard. Multi-era developmental context.
