Bruce Bivens: LB · East Carolina · #5.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Bruce Bivens
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. The five seasons at East Carolina span two head coaches: Scottie Montgomery and Mike Houston. The first one came in 2021: All-AAC. On tape: 9 tackles against Navy, Week 12, 2021.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
57 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 4.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | East Carolina | 57 | 22 | 4.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- |
| 2020 | East Carolina | 47 | 17 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | East Carolina | 61 | 31 | 1.5 | 1.0 | -- | -- |
| 2018 | East Carolina | 61 | 27 | 8.5 | 2.5 | -- | -- |
| 2017 | East Carolina | 10 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 236 | 102 | 19.0 | 5.5 | 1 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 19-33@ App State | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 17-20vs South Carolina | 6 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 42-38@ Marshall | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-28vs Charleston Southern | 6 | 4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 52-29vs Tulane | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 16-20@ UCF | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-31@ Houston | 5 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 29-14vs South Florida | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 45-3vs Temple | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 30-29@ Memphis | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 38-35@ Navy | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 13 | L 13-35vs No. 4 Cincinnati | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 57 | 22 | 4.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Week 4 · 2021
W 31-28
1 sack · 1.5 tackles for loss · 6 tackles
Edged out Charleston Southern at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
57tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%4 TFLSack rate
4%2 sacksPD rate
0%0 pass breakups57 tackles · 4.5 for loss · 2 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 4.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Houston
Pass share
47.5%
441 pass / 488 run
Plays / game
77.4
12 games
Team sack rate
7.9%
454 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #403 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at East Carolina, 236 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 2ND TEAM
All-AAC 2nd team (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Scottie Montgomery → Mike Houston. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
