Willizhuan Yates
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for two head coaches at Ball State: Mike Neu and Mike Uremovich. On tape: 7 tackles against Kent State, Week 4, 2026.
32 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
32 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 0 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 | Ball State | 32 | 22 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | Ball State | 32 | 25 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | Ball State | 17 | 12 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | 81 | 59 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 |
Last game (Wk 8): 1 pass breakup, 4 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 | L 3-56@ No. 1 Ohio State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 41-17vs Stony Brook | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 15-51@ Liberty | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 13-26@ Kent State | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 24-39vs Toledo | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 14-45@ Northwestern | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 32-31@ Bowling Green | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-17vs Sacramento State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 32 | 22 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Oct. 24 · W 34-17 vs Sacramento State, play by play
4 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.
His game this year: coverage — 2 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Ball State’s defense played that day
Sacramento State’s 11 drives: 8 stopped (1 takeaway) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 4 of 6. His pbu came with Ball State up 4.
2 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception on 3rd and 9 ended Bowling Green’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 3rd and 9. Third quarter, up 17-10. Ended Bowling Green’s drive (int).
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.
4 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. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 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.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 7 · 2026
W 32-31
1 interception · 2 tackles · 2 solo tackles
Edged out Bowling Green on the road in a shootout.
Ratings of the games shown run from -29 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
6%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
32tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL32 tackles · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Road5g | 4.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Uremovich
Pass share
49.2%
250 pass / 258 run
Plays / game
63.5
8 games
Team sack rate
5.3%
281 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
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 #230 at the position.
The No. 3,077 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Mid-American.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 23 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mike Neu → Mike Uremovich. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
In the portal · 2026
In transfer portal
