Tarvos Alford
Second year in the Ohio State linebacker corps. One game to point at: 5 tackles and 1 INT against Ball State — Week 1, 2026.
21 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
21 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Tarvos Alford vs Ball State.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ohio State | 21 | 11 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | Ohio State | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 27 | 14 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 2 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 56-3vs Ball State | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 23-24@ No. 4 Texas | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 59-3vs Kent State | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 42-19vs Illinois | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 31-14@ No. 14 Iowa | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 45-16vs Maryland | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 19-15@ No. 5 Indiana | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 18-30@ USC | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 11 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Oct. 31 · L 18-30 at USC, play by play
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 2 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Ohio State’s defense played that day
USC’s 11 drives: 5 stopped (1 takeaway) · 6 scored. While the game was within a score they held 1 of 5.
3 tackles.
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.
2 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
0 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception on 3rd and 7 ended Ball State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 6 for him; the box score credits 5.
Intercepted on 3rd and 7. Second quarter, up 14-0. Ended Ball State’s drive (int).
Week 1 · 2026
W 56-3
vs Ball State
1 interception · 0.5 tackles for loss · 5 tackles
Dominant 53-point win at home against Ball State.
Ratings of the games shown run from -21 to +24 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
21tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%2 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
10%2 pass breakups21 tackles · 1.5 for loss · 1 interception.
2 seasons under Ryan Day, all run-leaning offenses — 18-4 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 3.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Day
Pass share
45.0%
250 pass / 306 run
Plays / game
69.5
8 games
Team sack rate
5.8%
275 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #300 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
