Bowling Green · W 32-31
No tackles.
Sacramento State · W 34-17
No tackles.
Smith has tackles in 6 of Ball State’s 8 games: none against Bowling Green and Sacramento State.
Sterling Smith
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for two head coaches at two programs in two seasons: Barry Odom and Mike Uremovich. A game that shows it: 9 tackles against Kent State — Week 4, 2026.
36 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
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.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ball State | 36 | 20 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| 2025 | Purdue | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 39 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 3-56@ No. 1 Ohio State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 41-17vs Stony Brook | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 15-51@ Liberty | 9 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 13-26@ Kent State | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-39vs Toledo | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 14-45@ Northwestern | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 20 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Ratings of the games shown run from -21 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
3%1 pass breakupsTackle volume
36tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%1 TFL36 tackles · 1 for loss · 1 pass breakup.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 6.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Uremovich
Pass share
49.2%
250 pass / 258 run
Plays / game
63.5
8 games
Team sack rate
5.3%
281 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
More tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #217 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Ryan Walters, Barry Odom and Mike Uremovich.
In the portal · 2026
In transfer portal
