#15

Craig Young

Senior linebacker for Kansas. 2023: 35 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks.

LB · Kansas · Sr. · #15

6′3″ · 225 lb · Fort Wayne, IN

CFB Index 48 · #304 of 577 LBsHigh confidenceKansas 2023 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

ATH recruit

No. 605 nationally · Signed with Wayne

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 linebacker for Kansas. 2023: 35 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Wayne in 2019.
Transferred from Ohio State to Kansas in 2022.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Five seasons at Kansas, 117 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

He barely played early on. Then he did not come off the field.

20193 games

Recruited3-star out of Wayne

202212 games

The role got bigger.

Entered the portal

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#605 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2019–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2019–2023

2 coaches

2019–2020

Les Miles

Kansas

2021–2023

Lance Leipold

Kansas

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Les Miles → Lance Leipold. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2019Ohio State13-1HC: Ryan Day · Run-heavy, fast tempo

2020Ohio State7-1HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2021Ohio State11-2HC: Ryan Day · Balanced, fast tempo

2022Kansas6-7HC: Lance Leipold · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2023Kansas9-4HC: Lance Leipold · Run-heavy, slow tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

48Rotational starter #304 of 577?

High confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: qb hurries (24th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Passes defended#512 / 2842 · 78th pct

Tackles for loss#752 / 2842 · 71st pct

4.0

Solo tackles#873 / 2842 · 68th pct

Tackles#1074 / 2842 · 62nd pct

Sacks#1326 / 2842 · 50th pct

0.5

Interceptions#323 / 827 · 31st pct

QB hurries#1486 / 2842 · 24th pct

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

2023 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	2.5	0.2	0.0	0.3
Road5g	4.0	0.6	0.1	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	3.7	0.2	0.0	0.3
Weeks 8+5g	2.6	0.6	0.1	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Lance Leipold

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

48 · #304 of 577 LBs

Three-star recruit. Now #304 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Kansas	35	23	4.0	0.5	3	1	--
2022	Kansas	58	42	5.5	4.5	3	1	--
2021	Ohio State	15	6	0.5	0.0	1	1	--
2020	Ohio State	4	4	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
2019	Ohio State	5	3	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
Career		117	78	10.0	5.0	7	3	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 9 · 2023

W 38–33

vs Oklahoma

2 TOT · 2 SOLO

Edged out Oklahoma at home in a shootout.

With J. Bean — 218 yds · 0 TD · 2 INT · QBR 75.8 · 62 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD · D. Neal — 112 rush yds (25 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 2	W 34-23vs Illinois	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	W 38-27vs BYU	2	2	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 5	L 14-40@ Texas	7	2	0.0	0.0	—	0	Season-high 7 tackles
Wk 6	W 51-22vs UCF	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 7	L 32-39@ Oklahoma State	4	4	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 9	W 38-33vs Oklahoma	2	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 10	W 28-21@ Iowa State	4	1	2.0	0.5	—	1
Wk 11	L 13-16vs Texas Tech	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 12	L 27-31vs Kansas State	3	3	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 49-16@ Cincinnati	2	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Bowl	W 49-36@ UNLV	3	2	1.0	0.0	1	0
Total		35	23	4.0	0.5	1	3

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology