Cale Sanders: S · SMU · #22.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Cale Sanders
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for three head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Lee Marks, Jeff Tedford and Rhett Lashlee. On tape: 6 tackles against Pittsburgh, Week 10, 2024.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
45 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 6 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | SMU | 45 | 22 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | SMU | 29 | 21 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2022 | Fresno State | 31 | 26 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6 | -- |
| 2021 | Fresno State | 20 | 18 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 |
| Career | 125 | 87 | 12.0 | 1.0 | 16 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 29-24@ Nevada | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 59-7vs Houston Christian | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 15-18vs BYU | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 66-42vs TCU | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 34-27@ No. 22 Louisville | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 40-10@ Stanford | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 28-27@ Duke | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 48-25vs No. 18 Pittsburgh | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 38-28vs Boston College | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 33-7@ Virginia | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 38-6vs California | 5 | 1 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 10-38@ No. 5 Penn State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 22 | 6.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 |
Week 14 · 2024
W 38-6
vs California
2 tackles for loss · 5 tackles · 1 solo tackle
Dominant 32-point win at home against California.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
2%1 pass breakupsTackle volume
45tackles this seasonTFL rate
13%6 TFL45 tackles · 6 for loss · 1 sack · 1 pass breakup.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rhett Lashlee
Pass share
45.3%
436 pass / 527 run
Plays / game
68.8
14 games
Team sack rate
4.0%
455 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #301 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons, at Fresno State and SMU, 125 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 39 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2024
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Kalen DeBoer, Jeff Tedford and Rhett Lashlee.
