Zion Tracy
Doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play. Played for three head coaches at Penn State: James Franklin, Terry Smith and Matt Campbell. One game to point at: 5 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against USC — Week 6, 2026.
23 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
23 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Zion Tracy vs Marshall.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Penn State | 23 | 17 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | Penn State | 32 | 26 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | Penn State | 32 | 27 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2023 | Penn State | 12 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 99 | 81 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 7 | 3 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 pass breakup, 1 tackle.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-0vs Marshall | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 27-9@ Temple | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 55-13vs Buffalo | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 20-24vs Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 13-34@ Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 23-31vs No. 19 USC | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 18-21@ Michigan | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-17vs Purdue | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 23 | 17 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 |
Oct. 31 · W 31-17 vs Purdue, play by play
1 tackle, 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 — 4 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Penn State’s defense played that day
Purdue’s 9 drives: 7 stopped (2 takeaways) · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 6.
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 interception. His interception ended Michigan’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
Intercepted. Second quarter, up 3-0. Ended Michigan’s drive (int).
5 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.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 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.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Ratings of the games shown run from -12 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
17%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
23tackles this season23 tackles · 2 for loss · 4 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 2.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Pass share
46.5%
251 pass / 289 run
Plays / game
67.5
8 games
Team sack rate
4.7%
278 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #96 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #11 of 18 Big Ten CBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 39 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: James Franklin, Terry Smith, and Matt Campbell. Multi-era developmental context.
