Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Two seasons in the San José State secondary to date. A game that shows it: 12 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Nevada — Week 8, 2026.
51 tackles · 1 sack
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
51 tackles. 3 passes defended. 1 interception. 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.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San José State | 51 | 33 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | San José State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 54 | 36 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 6 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 26-42@ No. 14 USC | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 27-21@ Eastern Michigan | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | W 30-20vs Cal Poly | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-26vs Fresno State | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-16@ Hawai'i | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-16vs Wyoming | 9 | 6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 24-11@ UTEP | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 13-28@ Nevada | 12 | 7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Wk 9 | L 16-21vs New Mexico | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 33 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 3 |
Oct. 31 · L 16-21 vs New Mexico, play by play
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 89 yards for the score. 6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 3rd and 13, returned 89 yards for the score. Fourth quarter, cut it to 21-16.
His defensive touchdowns put 14 points on the board directly. Without them the final is 2-21, not 16-21.
His game this year: coverage — 3 passes defended in the 9 games with play by play.
How San José State’s defense played that day
New Mexico’s 10 drives: 7 stopped (3 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 8. His pick-six came with San José State down 12.
A big game: 12 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, including 1 more for loss, 1 sack. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 8 of his 9, sacks included.
Sacked the quarterback for a 8-yard loss. Second quarter, up 7-3.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 8 for him; the box score credits 7.
3 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.
4 tackles, including 2 passes broken up, tied for 8th-most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Ratings of the games shown run from -24 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
6%3 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
51tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%2 TFL51 tackles · 2.5 for loss · 1 sack · 3 pass breakups · 1 interception.
2 seasons under Ken Niumatalolo — 7-14 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 6.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 5.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 9.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ken Niumatalolo
Pass share
48.8%
282 pass / 296 run
Plays / game
64.2
9 games
Team sack rate
7.1%
311 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
51 tackles in 9 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #62 at the position.
The No. 2,808 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Mountain West as a sophomore.
2026 is in progress.
