Tevita Tafuna: NT · UTEP · #50.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Tevita Tafuna
Wins the gap play after play. The four seasons at UTEP span two head coaches: Dana Dimel and Scotty Walden. One game to point at: 6 tackles against New Mexico State — Week 14, 2024.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
16 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2 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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Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 9 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 7-40@ Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-28@ Liberty | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 17-44@ Western Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 30-21vs Florida International | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-14@ Louisiana Tech | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 13-20vs Middle Tennessee | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 43-35vs Kennesaw State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 0-56@ No. 10 Tennessee | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 42-35@ New Mexico State | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Total | 16 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
12%2 TFLSack rate
6%1 sackHurry rate
0%0 hurries16 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scotty Walden
Pass share
45.6%
365 pass / 436 run
Plays / game
66.8
12 games
Team sack rate
6.9%
390 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Four seasons at UTEP, 47 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Dana Dimel → Scotty Walden. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
