#16
Kansas State · 2026
DJ Ackerson Jr.
LBFreshman6' 1", 207 lbsOklahoma City, OK★★★ 2026 recruit · #665 nationally
Kansas State Wildcats4-4 · TDC #44
Snap share
13%
likely 3–18%
Tackles
4
3365th of 5664 in FBS
Solo
4
Tackles for loss
0
Sacks
0
Interceptions
0
Game Log
DJ Ackerson Jr.'s box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
4.4 avg. game scoreBest: 5.1 at Colorado (Week 9)0 of 3 games at 8.0+
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 |  Nicholls | W 71–3 | 4.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2 |  Washington State | W 34–7 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 3 |  Tulane | W 31–20 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 4 | @ Cincinnati | L 26–31 | 4.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 |  Houston | L 16–35 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 7 |  Kansas | W 35–24 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 8 | @ Arizona State | L 17–28 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 9 | @ Colorado | L 24–27 | 5.1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2026 · 3 games | 4.4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 4 | 3365th / 5664 |
| Solo | 4 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 0 | — |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| QB hurries | 0 | — |
| Passes defended | 0 | — |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
Snaps by Game
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Nicholls | 58 | ~19 (2–34) | 1 | 33% |
| Wk 4 · Cincinnati | 52 | ~17 (2–31) | 1 | 33% |
| Wk 9 · Colorado | 64 | ~29 (3–53) | 2 | 45% |
| Season | 490 | 65 (17–87) | 4 | 13% |
Position Room
10 LBs on the Kansas State roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Mekhi Mason | LB | SR | 38 | 2.5 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 35 | Gabe Powers | LB | SR | 34 | 4.5 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Rex Van Wyhe | LB | 26 | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | ||
| Darien Whitaker Jr. | LB | 14 | 5 | 2.5 | — | 2 | ||
| 23 | Asa Newsom | LB | SR | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 26 | Sawyer Schilke | LB | SO | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 16 | DJ Ackerson Jr. | LB | FR | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 44 | Weston Polk | LB | SO | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 41 | Ashton Moore | LB | SO | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 20 | Jacobi Oliphant Jr. | LB | JR | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Kansas State depth chart →