Chad Stephens: DL · East Carolina · #3.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Chad Stephens
Wins the gap play after play. Five seasons in the East Carolina defensive front to date. A game that shows it: 4 tackles against Navy — Week 14, 2024.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
36 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 3.5 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | East Carolina | 36 | 14 | 3.5 | 1.0 | -- |
| 2023 | East Carolina | 39 | 19 | 11.5 | 3.5 | -- |
| 2022 | East Carolina | 34 | 20 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 1 |
| 2021 | East Carolina | 17 | 10 | 1.5 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2020 | East Carolina | 13 | 7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | -- |
| Career | 139 | 70 | 26.5 | 8.0 | 1 |
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 42-3vs Norfolk State | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 20-14@ Old Dominion | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 19-21vs App State | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-35@ Liberty | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 30-20vs UTSA | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-55@ Charlotte | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 28-45@ No. 23 Army | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 56-34vs Temple | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 38-31@ Tulsa | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 40-28@ North Texas | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 20-34vs Navy | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 26-21vs NC State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 14 | 3.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
10%4 TFLSack rate
3%1 sackHurry rate
3%1 hurry36 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Houston
Pass share
47.9%
427 pass / 465 run
Plays / game
68.6
13 games
Team sack rate
4.5%
448 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2024
36 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #129 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at East Carolina, 8 sacks — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 45 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mike Houston → Blake Harrell. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
