Clayton Bush: DB · Illinois · #21.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Clayton Bush
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for two head coaches at two programs in two seasons: Tyson Helton and Bret Bielema. A game that shows it: 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Indiana — Week 11, 2023.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
42 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 2.5 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.
LancasterOnline Oct 25
Yahoo Sports Oct 25Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Illinois | 42 | 19 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2019 | Western Kentucky | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 |
| Career | 46 | 21 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 30-28vs Toledo | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 23-34@ Kansas | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 13-30vs No. 7 Penn State | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 19-44@ Purdue | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 27-24@ Maryland | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 27-26@ Minnesota | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 48-45vs Indiana | 11 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 12 | L 13-15@ Iowa | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 43-45vs Northwestern | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 19 | 2.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
2%1 pass breakupsTackle volume
42tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%2 TFL42 tackles · 2.5 for loss · 1 pass breakup.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 6.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 3.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 3.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 6.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
51.4%
413 pass / 390 run
Plays / game
66.9
12 games
Team sack rate
8.8%
457 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2023
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 #365 at the position.
How it ended
Two seasons, at Western Kentucky and Illinois, 46 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Tyson Helton and Bret Bielema.
