Bryton Thompson: DE · UTEP · #15.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Bryton Thompson
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Played for two head coaches in three seasons at UTEP. The first one came in 2024: Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week. On tape: 4 tackles against New Mexico State, Week 14, 2024.
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
39 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 5.5 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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Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 7-40@ Nebraska | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-27vs Southern Utah | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-28@ Liberty | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 17-27@ Colorado State | 12 | 4 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 21-41vs Sam Houston | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 17-44@ Western Kentucky | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 30-21vs Florida International | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-14@ Louisiana Tech | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 13-20vs Middle Tennessee | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 43-35vs Kennesaw State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 42-35@ New Mexico State | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 14 | 5.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
5%2 sacksTFL rate
14%6 TFL39 tackles · 5.5 for loss · 2 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 4.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scotty Walden
Pass share
45.6%
365 pass / 436 run
Plays / game
66.8
12 games
Team sack rate
6.9%
390 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
39 tackles in 11 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Three seasons at UTEP, 6 sacks — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Dana Dimel → Scotty Walden. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
