← the board · drewhoover.com · 2024–2026
California's best defenders since 2024
Teddye Buchanan leads with 114 tackles in 13 games at California; Aidan Keanaaina had 100.
Every defender with 5 or more games at California since 2024, ranked by tackles; the lines are each player's tackles game by game, the top 8 drawn. A link opens the player's page, where he has one, or his row on the board.
78 defenders with 5+ games at Californiatackles
| # | player | seasons | games | tackles | sacks | tackles for loss | interceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Teddye Buchanan | 2024 | 13 | 114 | 5 | 14 | 0 |
| 2 | Aidan Keanaaina | 2024–2025 | 26 | 100 | 2.5 | 6 | 0 |
| 3 | Luke Ferrelli | 2025 | 13 | 91 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 4 | Aiden Manutai | 2025–2026 | 16 | 65 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | Isaiah Crosby | 2024–2026 | 13 | 65 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 6 | T.J. Bollers | 2024–2025 | 24 | 64 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | Dru Polidore Jr. | 2025 | 11 | 62 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | Aaron Hampton | 2024–2026 | 19 | 55 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Hezekiah Masses | 2025 | 13 | 47 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 10 | Marcus Harris | 2024 | 13 | 46 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 11 | Brent Austin | 2025 | 13 | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | TJ Bush Jr. | 2025 | 13 | 40 | 5.5 | 12 | 0 |
| 13 | Harrison Taggart | 2025 | 11 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | AJ Tuitele | 2026 | 7 | 36 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | Jasiah Wagoner | 2024–2025 | 14 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | Daniel Harris | 2026 | 7 | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | Kingston Lopa | 2026 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 18 | Jayden Wayne | 2025–2026 | 15 | 30 | 2.5 | 6 | 0 |
| 19 | Kamar Mothudi | 2026 | 7 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Tristan Jernigan | 2026 | 7 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Ja'ir Smith | 2024–2025 | 15 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Chris Victor | 2025 | 9 | 24 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 23 | Liam Johnson | 2024 | 9 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | Cheikhsaliou Fall | 2024 | 9 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | Jericho Johnson | 2026 | 5 | 18 | 1.5 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | Odera Okaka | 2025–2026 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | Quimari Shemwell | 2025–2026 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | JD McKinley | 2026 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | Ryan Yaites | 2024 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Michael Hurst Jr. | 2026 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | Solomon Williams | 2026 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 32 | Jordan Sanford | 2025–2026 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Khamani Hudson | 2025–2026 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | Ricky Fletcher | 2026 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 35 | Ashun Shepphard | 2026 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Tristan Dunn | 2025–2026 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Serigne Tounkara | 2024–2025 | 6 | 6 | 1.5 | 2 | 0 |
| 38 | Niles Davis | 2026 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | Jayden Williams | 2026 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Ashtyn Davis | 2017–2019 | 31 | — | — | — | 7 |
| 41 | Cam Sidney | 2023–2026 | 30 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 42 | Derek Wilkins | 2023–2026 | 28 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 43 | Cade Uluave | 2023–2025 | 27 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 44 | Nohl Williams | 2023–2024 | 22 | — | — | — | 9 |
| 45 | Stanley Saole-McKenzie | 2023–2026 | 22 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 46 | Craig Woodson | 2020–2024 | 21 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 47 | Lu-Magia Hearns III | 2021–2024 | 20 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 48 | Nate Burrell | 2022–2026 | 20 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 49 | Luke Rubenzer | 2014–2017 | 19 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 50 | Miles Williams | 2021–2024 | 19 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 51 | Ryan McCulloch | 2023–2025 | 18 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 52 | Xavier Carlton | 2022–2024 | 18 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 53 | Ricky Correia | 2021–2024 | 17 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 54 | Hunter Barth | 2023–2024 | 15 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 55 | Jaylinn Hawkins | 2016–2019 | 15 | — | — | — | 10 |
| 56 | David Reese | 2023–2024 | 14 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 57 | Matthew Littlejohn | 2023–2024 | 13 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 58 | Daniel Scott | 2018–2022 | 9 | — | — | — | 7 |
| 59 | Devante Downs | 2014–2017 | 9 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 60 | Jeremiah Earby | 2022–2023 | 9 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 61 | Jordan Kunaszyk | 2016–2018 | 8 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 62 | Myles Jernigan | 2022–2023 | 8 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 63 | Nate Rutchena | 2021–2024 | 8 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 64 | Patrick McMorris | 2023 | 8 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 65 | Brett Johnson | 2019–2023 | 7 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 66 | Cam Bynum | 2017–2020 | 6 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 67 | Cameron Goode | 2017–2021 | 6 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 68 | Elijah Hicks | 2018–2021 | 6 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 69 | Evan Weaver | 2016–2018 | 6 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 70 | Jackson Sirmon | 2022–2023 | 6 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 71 | Josh Drayden | 2016–2021 | 6 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 72 | Kaleb Elarms-Orr | 2023 | 6 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 73 | Myles Williams | 2023–2024 | 6 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 74 | Darius Allensworth | 2015–2017 | 5 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 75 | James Looney | 2016–2017 | 5 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 76 | Kaylin Moore | 2023 | 5 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 77 | Muelu Iosefa | 2020–2023 | 5 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 78 | Traveon Beck | 2017–2019 | 5 | — | — | — | 4 |
Also at California: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers, punters. Every school and conference: schools, conferences. The games are ESPN's box scores since 2004 (the Method says where they fall short); a position is the roster's, else read off the box score, so a tight end from before 2014 may be listed with the wide receivers.