Donovan Branch is a linebacker who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at UConn.
Branch fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. Played for two head coaches in four seasons at UConn. On tape: 5 tackles against Delaware, Week 3, 2025.
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
30 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-13vs Central Connecticut | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 20-27@ Syracuse | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 41-44@ Delaware | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 31-25vs Ball State | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-17@ Buffalo | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 38-23@ Boston College | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 34-37@ Rice | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 38-19vs UAB | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 37-34vs Duke | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 26-16vs Air Force | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 48-45@ Florida Atlantic | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 19 | 5.0 | 3.5 | — | 1 |
Week 13 · 2025
W 48-45
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 4 tackles
Edged out Florida Atlantic on the road in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
30tackles this seasonTFL rate
17%5 TFLSack rate
12%4 sacksPD rate
3%1 pass breakups30 tackles · 5 for loss · 3.5 sacks.
4 seasons under Jim Mora — 27-24 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Gordon Sammis
Pass share
53.5%
451 pass / 392 run
Plays / game
64.8
13 games
Team sack rate
3.1%
452 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #231 at the position.
The No. 1,404 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the FBS Independents as a senior.
A stat line in 30 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
1 coachPlayed every college season under Jim Mora.
In the portal · 2026
In transfer portal
