Tavin Ward
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for three head coaches in four seasons at South Florida. One game to point at: 9 tackles against UTSA — Week 6, 2026.
39 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
39 tackles. 1 pass defended. 1 interception. 1 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.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | South Florida | 39 | 24 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | South Florida | 60 | 33 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | South Florida | 61 | 41 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2023 | South Florida | 38 | 26 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 |
| Career | 198 | 124 | 7.5 | 0.0 | 14 | 7 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 pass breakup, 5 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 19-9vs Florida International | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-24@ Army | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 59-17vs Delaware State | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 14-6@ Bowling Green | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 13-17vs Temple | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-31@ UTSA | 9 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 7 | W 29-2vs Kent State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 30-10vs UAB | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 39 | 24 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
Oct. 31 · W 30-10 vs UAB, play by play
5 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
How South Florida’s defense played that day
UAB’s 9 drives: 7 stopped · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 2 of 4.
2 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.
2 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. It places 6 for him; the box score credits 5.
5 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.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
6 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 4th and 10 ended Florida International’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.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
Intercepted on 4th and 10. Fourth quarter, up 16-3. Ended Florida International’s drive (int).
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 -21 to +4 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
3%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
39tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%1 TFL39 tackles · 1 for loss · 1 pass breakup · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 6.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brian Hartline
Pass share
42.1%
195 pass / 268 run
Plays / game
57.9
8 games
Team sack rate
7.3%
220 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
39 tackles in 8 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #188 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-AAC
Based on 2025: #13 of 38 American Athletic Ss
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 43 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
4 coachesPlayed under 4 different head coaches: Jeff Scott, Daniel Da Prato, Alex Golesh, and Brian Hartline. Multi-era developmental context.
