#45

Byron Vaughns

Senior linebacker for Baylor. 2023: 30 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks.

LB · Baylor · Sr. · #45

6′4″ · 238 lb · Fort Worth, TX

CFB Index 54 · #254 of 577 LBsHigh confidenceBaylor 2023 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

OLB recruit

No. 445 nationally · Signed with Texas

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

5 linebacker for Baylor. 2023: 30 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Texas in 2018.
Transferred from Utah State to Baylor in 2023.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Baylor, 138 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

3 programs, one constant: he played.

2018

Signed with Texas3-star out of Eastern Hills

202113 games

Entered the portal

202311 games

Entered the portal

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#445 national

CFB

College

3 teams

2019–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2019–2023

2 coaches

2019

Matt Rhule

Baylor

2021–2023

Dave Aranda

Baylor

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Matt Rhule → Dave Aranda. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2019Texas8-5HC: Tom Herman · Balanced

2021Utah State11-3HC: Blake Anderson · Balanced, fast tempo

2022Utah State6-7HC: Blake Anderson · Run-leaning

2023Baylor3-9HC: Dave Aranda · Balanced

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

54Rotational starter #254 of 577?

High confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles for loss (92nd percentile). Strength: sacks (87th percentile). Concern: qb hurries (24th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Tackles for loss#215 / 2842 · 92nd pct

8.0

Sacks#309 / 2842 · 87th pct

3.0

Solo tackles#928 / 2842 · 66th pct

Tackles#1301 / 2842 · 53rd pct

Passes defended#1113 / 2842 · 50th pct

QB hurries#1486 / 2842 · 24th pct

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.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home8g	2.0	0.6	0.4	0.1
Road3g	4.7	1.0	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.0	0.5	0.3	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	3.6	1.0	0.2	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Dave Aranda

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

our read surprisingly productive for a linebacker with no award recognition yet — top-1% tackles behind the line, top-4% solo-tackle rate.2023 profile

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

54 · #254 of 577 LBs

Three-star recruit. Now #254 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Baylor	30	22	8.0	3.0	1	--	--
2022	Utah State	50	20	6.5	2.0	--	--	--
2021	Utah State	44	20	11.0	4.5	6	--	--
2019	Texas	14	10	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
Career		138	72	25.5	9.5	7	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2023

W 30–7

vs Long Island University

2 TOT · 2 SOLO · 2 SACKS

Dominant 23-point win at home against Long Island University.

With D. Pendergrass — 111 rush yds (21 car) · 1 TD · S. Robertson — 113 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 39.4 · 14 rush yds (1 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	L 31-42vs Texas State	2	1	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	L 13-20vs Utah	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	W 30-7vs Long Island University	2	2	2.0	2.0	—	0	2 sacks
Wk 4	L 6-38vs Texas	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	W 36-35@ UCF	3	3	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 14-39vs Texas Tech	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 8	W 32-29@ Cincinnati	6	4	2.0	0.0	—	0	Season-high 6 tackles
Wk 9	L 18-30vs Iowa State	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 10	L 24-25vs Houston	2	2	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 12	L 17-42@ TCU	5	3	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	L 31-34vs West Virginia	4	4	1.0	0.0	—	0
Total		30	22	8.0	3.0	—	1

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology