Brandon Buckner is a linebacker who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Middle Tennessee.
Buckner fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. The four seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Bryan McClendon, Rick Stockstill and Derek Mason. One game to point at: 7 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against Western Kentucky — Week 12, 2025.
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
35 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 6.5 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.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Middle Tennessee | 35 | 21 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 2 |
| 2024 | Middle Tennessee | 37 | 18 | 4.0 | 3.0 | -- |
| 2023 | Middle Tennessee | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 2021 | Oregon | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 83 | 45 | 12.5 | 8.5 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-34vs Austin Peay | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 10-42@ Wisconsin | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 14-13@ Nevada | 5 | 5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 28-42vs Marshall | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 16-24@ Kennesaw State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 20-22vs Missouri State | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 28-31@ Delaware | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 30-56vs Florida International | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 26-42@ Western Kentucky | 7 | 4 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 31-17vs Sam Houston | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 31-24@ New Mexico State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 21 | 6.5 | 4.5 | — | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
35tackles this seasonTFL rate
19%6 TFLSack rate
13%4 sacksPD rate
6%2 pass breakups35 tackles · 6.5 for loss · 4.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Road6g | 3.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Derek Mason
Pass share
61.3%
495 pass / 313 run
Plays / game
67.3
12 games
Team sack rate
5.9%
547 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #176 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Conference USA
Based on 2025: #17 of 45 Conference USA LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Mario Cristobal, Dan Lanning, Rick Stockstill and Derek Mason.
