Dennis Briggs Jr.: DL · Illinois · #6.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Dennis Briggs Jr.
Wins the gap play after play. Played for three head coaches at two programs in seven seasons: Willie Taggart, Mike Norvell and Bret Bielema. One game to point at: 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Kansas — Week 2, 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
42 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 4.5 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Illinois | 42 | 19 | 4.5 | 3.5 | -- |
| 2023 | Florida State | 12 | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | -- |
| 2022 | Florida State | 19 | 5 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1 |
| 2021 | Florida State | 6 | -- | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 |
| 2020 | Florida State | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2019 | Florida State | 28 | 15 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2018 | Florida State | 2 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| Career | 115 | 45 | 13.5 | 9.0 | 4 |
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 45-0vs Eastern Illinois | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 23-17vs No. 19 Kansas | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 30-9vs Central Michigan | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-24@ No. 22 Nebraska | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-21@ No. 9 Penn State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 50-49vs Purdue | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-7vs No. 24 Michigan | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 9-38@ No. 1 Oregon | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 17-25vs Minnesota | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 38-31@ Rutgers | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 38-28vs Northwestern | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 21-17vs No. 14 South Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 19 | 4.5 | 3.5 | — | 0 |
Bowl · 2024
W 21-17
vs South Carolina · neutral site
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 1 tackle
A close one, won by 4 at a neutral site.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
11%4 TFLSack rate
8%4 sacksHurry rate
12%5 hurries42 tackles · 4.5 for loss · 3.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 3.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
44.1%
352 pass / 446 run
Plays / game
61.4
13 games
Team sack rate
7.1%
378 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2024
42 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
How it ended
7 seasons, at Florida State and Illinois, 9 sacks — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2018–2024
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Willie Taggart, Odell Haggins, Mike Norvell and Bret Bielema.
