Senior defensive lineman on UConn's 2025 roster.
6′4″ · 245 lb · Norfolk, VA
The numbers
sacks · 2025
2 TFL · 21 tackles · 2 hurries
Best game: 0.5 TFL, 3 tackles, at Florida Atlantic
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior defensive lineman on UConn's 2025 roster.
Ben Smiley III
Wins his gap play after play. Across six seasons and two programs, three head coaches: Bronco Mendenhall, Tony Elliott and Gordon Sammis. One game to point at: 4 tackles against Buffalo — Week 5, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 6 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2019–2025
4 coachesPlayed under 4 different head coaches: Randy Edsall, Lou Spanos, Jim Mora, and Gordon Sammis. Multi-era developmental context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: solo tackles (17th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
10%2 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksHurry rate
10%2 hurries21 tackles · 2 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jason Candle
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 7 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-13vs Central Connecticut | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 20-27@ Syracuse | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-25vs Ball State | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 5 | W 20-17@ Buffalo | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 51-10vs Florida International | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 26-16vs Air Force | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 48-45@ Florida Atlantic | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Toby Ndukwe’s 2020 season.
Matches Toby on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
Player DNA