“Dude thought he had the ball at the bottom of the pile but it was Cutter’s helmet.”
4 stories in the last 30 days, from 4 outlets.
WV News Oct 24
Ben Cutter
Played for three head coaches in four seasons at West Virginia. One game to point at: 9 tackles and 1 sack against Iowa State — Week 5, 2026.
38 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
38 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 3.5 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.
from 4 outlets
WV News Oct 24 · 1 outlet
from 10 outlets
WV News Oct 24 · 1 outlet
Sports IllustratedBen Cutter Raves About WVU’s Freakish Redshirt Freshman LinebackerAug 8Each week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Ben Cutter vs Coastal Carolina.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | West Virginia | 38 | 18 | 3.5 | 1.0 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | West Virginia | 38 | 16 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2024 | West Virginia | 39 | 10 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | West Virginia | 56 | 28 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 171 | 72 | 13.5 | 4.0 | 2 | 2 |
Last game (Wk 8): 4 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 | W 31-24vs Coastal Carolina | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 52-7vs UT Martin | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-27vs No. 25 Virginia | 5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-41vs Oklahoma State | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 42-45@ Iowa State | 9 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 31-52vs Arizona | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 45-42vs Cincinnati | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 24-20@ TCU | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 38 | 18 | 3.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Oct. 24 · W 24-20 at TCU, play by play
4 tackles.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 3 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 8 games with play by play.
How West Virginia’s defense played that day
TCU’s 10 drives: 6 stopped (3 takeaways) · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 6 of 10.
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.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
Sacked the quarterback for a 6-yard loss on 3rd and 9. Second quarter, down 14-7.
8 tackles.
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.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
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 -10 to +16 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
38tackles this seasonTFL rate
9%4 TFLSack rate
3%1 sackPD rate
0%0 pass breakups38 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 6.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rich Rodriguez
Pass share
27.7%
164 pass / 429 run
Plays / game
74.1
8 games
Team sack rate
7.9%
190 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #324 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #30 of 73 Big 12 LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
The No. 1,380 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the Big 12 as a senior.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 42 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Neal Brown → Rich Rodriguez. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
