Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 40-0vs Northern Illinois | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 16-13vs Iowa State | 15 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 15 tackles |
| Total | 21 | 13 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#33
Cam Buffington
Junior linebacker for Iowa. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
6′3″ · 238 lb · Winfield, IA · Winfield-Mt. Union
Returning to Iowa for 2026
How he plays
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
Solo tackles: 96th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
21
tackles · 2026
1 TFL
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 15 tackles, vs Iowa State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 linebacker for Iowa. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Iowa in 2024.
Buzz vs Tape
Every angle we can check here reads about where you'd expect this season.
29.3own fans
25national conversation
Cam Buffington
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles. He has spent two seasons in the Iowa linebacker corps. The receipt: 15 tackles against Iowa State — Week 2, 2026.
21 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
2024
- Signed with Iowa4-star out of Winfield-Mt. Union
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Iowa
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Kirk Ferentz — 11-4 over that span.
2025Iowa9-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2026Iowa2-0HC: Kirk Ferentz · Balanced
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: solo tackles (96th percentile). Strength: tackles (94th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 splits
Through 2 games: 10.5 TKL/g, 0.5 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 16–13
vs Iowa State
15 TOT · 9 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 at home.
With B. Everitt — 44 AVG · 4 IN 20 · 51 LONG · H. Brown — 191 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 34.2 · 22 rush yds (8 car) · 1 TD
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Iowa
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Iowa
Returning around him
- 7 Iowa players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +7 net (15 in / 8 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Iowa · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #44 · 2026 recruiting class #26
DNA match
Player DNA
Sideline-to-Sideline
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
LB
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Penei Pavihi’s 2022 season.
Matches Penei on
TFL rate
Height
Solo tackle rate
Differs from Penei on
Class year (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Aidan Vaughan's sophomore season at Liberty (2025).
82%match
Matches Aidan on
Class year
Solo tackle rate
Tackle volume
The linebacker corps · Iowa
- #36Jayden Montgomery44 tackles · 2025
- #46Preston Ries7 tackles · 2025
- #33Cam Buffington7 tackles · 2025
- #23Landyn Van Kekerix5 tackles · 2025
- #22Derek Weisskopf4 tackles · 2025
8 more on the roster · Iowa team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology