Georgia · L 20-70
No tackles.
Ard has tackles in 7 of Western Kentucky’s 8 games: none against Georgia.
Westen Ard
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. On tape: 10 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against Sam Houston, Week 7, 2026.
50 tackles · 2.5 sacks
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Western Kentucky | 50 | 24 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 3 |
| Career | 50 | 24 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 3 |
Last game (Wk 9): 9 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 7 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-49@ Nevada | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 0-38@ No. 4 Indiana | 9 | 4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 52-7vs Mercyhurst | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 5 | L 13-34@ New Mexico State | 8 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 34-13vs Missouri State | 9 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 16-3@ Sam Houston | 10 | 5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 1 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 9 | L 21-35vs Delaware | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 24 | 5.5 | 2.5 | — | 3 |
Oct. 27 · L 21-35 vs Delaware, play by play
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, 2 of them sacks, in the 7 games with play by play.
How Western Kentucky’s defense played that day
Delaware’s 11 drives: 6 stopped (1 takeaway) · 5 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 8.
10 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 10-yard loss on 3rd and 10. First quarter, up 7-0.
9 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 2 passes broken up. His pass breakup on 4th and 5 ended Mercyhurst’s drive (downs).
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.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 5. Second quarter, up 24-0. Ended Mercyhurst’s drive (downs).
9 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 4-yard loss. Fourth quarter, down 38-0.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 3 for him; the box score credits 2.
Ratings of the games shown run from -18 to +24 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
50tackles this seasonTFL rate
11%6 TFLSack rate
5%2 sacksPD rate
6%3 pass breakups50 tackles · 5.5 for loss · 2.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 7.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Road4g | 7.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 9.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tyson Helton
Pass share
53.4%
444 pass / 388 run
Plays / game
104.0
8 games
Team sack rate
5.9%
323 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2026
More tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #94 at the position.
The No. 1,654 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the Conference USA as a freshman.
