Senior linebacker for Texas Tech. 2025: 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss.
6′3″ · 270 lb · Cedar Hill, TX
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
tackles · 2025
3 TFL · 2 PBU
Best game: 3 tackles, 1.5 TFL, at West Virginia
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 linebacker for Texas Tech. 2025: 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss.
Charles Esters III
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. This is his fourth year in the same linebacker corps at Texas Tech. The receipt on tape: 3 tackles, 1.5 TFL against West Virginia, Week 14, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Joey McGuire.
Season context · Team result + system
4 seasons under Joey McGuire — 35-18 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: qb hurries (82nd percentile). Concern: solo tackles (2nd percentile).
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 · Per-game
2025 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road2g | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-72g | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Joey McGuire
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2024
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Texas Tech | 10 | 3 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Texas Tech | 15 | 5 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Texas Tech | 25 | 7 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Texas Tech | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 51 | 16 | 10.5 | 3.5 | 4 | -- | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 67-7vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 42-17vs Kansas | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 42-0vs Oklahoma State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 43-20@ Kansas State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 29-7vs BYU | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 48-9vs UCF | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 49-0@ West Virginia | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 15 | W 34-7vs BYU | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 10 | 3 | 3.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
10 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 3 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.
2026 Outlook
Texas Tech
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Texas Tech
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Texas Tech · Last season: 12-2 (AP #4) · Talent rank #29 · 2026 recruiting class #18
Player DNA
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Braylon Ryan’s 2022 season.
Matches Braylon on
Differs from Braylon on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Daymond Williams's junior season at Buffalo (2023).
Matches Daymond on
Differs from Daymond on
Player DNA