KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan rising senior defensive end Ali Fayad has been ranked the No. 10 returning edge defender in the country by ESPN.com.
 
A second team All-Mid-American Conference selection in 2019, Fayad has played in 38 career games (28 starts), recording 107 tackles, 32.5 tackles for lost yardage, 16.5 sacks, eight caused fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one pass breakup and 16 quarterback pressures. He has started the last 25 games and owns 21 games with three or more tackles and seven outings with five or more stops including a career-high seven tackles against Georgia State, Toledo and Northern Illinois in 2019. During the 2019 regular season finale at Northern Illinois, Fayad booked a personal-best 4.5 TFL, the most by a Bronco in a game since Drew Nowak's 5.0 versus Akron on November 25, 2011. Fayad finished the 2019 season ranked third in the league in TFL per game (1.15) and tied for fifth in sacks per game (0.50). He ended the campaign ranked sixth among defensive ends in the MAC in overall defense and fifth in pass rushing by Pro Football Focus (PFF). 

Fayad is one of three returning players in the MAC, and one of 22 nationally, who carded 15.0 or more TFL in 2019. He is the MAC's only player who has recorded 12.0 or more TFL in each of the last two years. In 2019, Fayad finished tied for sixth nationally with 0.31 caused fumbles per game. He enters the 2020 season with eight career caused fumbles, just two away from third in WMU history.

Among active FBS players, Fayad enters the 2020 season tied for second in caused fumbles and fourth in TFL.
 
ESPN used a combination of PFF's grades and the wins above average metric to present the top 10 edge defenders returning to college football in 2020.
 
To read more about the top-10 list by ESPN.com please click HERE. Please note that this is a subscription-based article.
 
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