North Dakota State · L 7-31
3 tackles
The other 7 games average 5 tackles. This one was 2 below.
Xavier Smith
Three seasons in the UTEP secondary to date. One game to point at: 11 tackles against Michigan — Week 3, 2026.
38 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
38 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 0.5 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.
Last game (Wk 9): 3 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-51@ No. 10 Oklahoma | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 51-10vs Texas Southern | 7 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-52@ No. 19 Michigan | 11 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 7-33vs Oregon State | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-61@ New Mexico | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-30vs Nevada | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 11-24vs San José State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 7-31@ North Dakota State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 38 | 20 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
Oct. 31 · L 7-31 at North Dakota State, play by play
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
How UTEP’s defense played that day
North Dakota State’s 10 drives: 6 stopped (1 takeaway) · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 8.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 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.
11 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: 6 of his 7, sacks included.
Ratings of the games shown run from -11 to +12 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
3%1 pass breakupsTackle volume
38tackles this seasonTFL rate
1%0 TFL38 tackles · 0.5 for loss · 1 pass breakup.
3 seasons under Scotty Walden — 6-26 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 5.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scotty Walden
Pass share
38.7%
179 pass / 283 run
Plays / game
57.8
8 games
Team sack rate
18.0%
228 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
38 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
Three-star recruit. Now #342 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Mountain West
Based on 2025: #8 of 25 Conference USA Ss — his program moves to the Mountain West for 2026
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%). It was measured on players who stayed in the same conference and is not adjusted for the move to the Mountain West.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 31 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Karl Dorrell, Mike Sanford Jr. and Scotty Walden.
