Donovan Kaufman: S · NC State · #5.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Donovan Kaufman
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for five head coaches across five seasons and three programs. A game that shows it: 11 tackles against Syracuse — Week 7, 2024.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
74 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 3.5 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.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | NC State | 74 | 40 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2023 | Auburn | 37 | 25 | 4.5 | 1.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2022 | Auburn | 39 | 20 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2021 | Auburn | 33 | 26 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2020 | Vanderbilt | 15 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 198 | 119 | 11.5 | 3.0 | 9 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-21vs Western Carolina | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 10-51vs No. 14 Tennessee | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 30-20vs Louisiana Tech | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 35-59@ No. 21 Clemson | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-17vs Northern Illinois | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 30-34vs Wake Forest | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 17-24vs Syracuse | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 8 | W 24-23@ California | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 59-28vs Stanford | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 19-29vs Duke | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 29-30@ Georgia Tech | 5 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 35-30@ North Carolina | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
 Bowl | L 21-26vs East Carolina | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 74 | 40 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 |
Week 5 · 2024
W 24-17
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 4 tackles
A close one, won by 7 at home.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
74tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%4 TFL74 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1 sack · 4 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 5.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Road4g | 6.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 6.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 4.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dave Doeren
Pass share
48.5%
391 pass / 415 run
Plays / game
62.0
13 games
Team sack rate
6.6%
426 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2024
74 tackles in 13 games, 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 #87 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Vanderbilt, Auburn and NC State, 198 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
5 coachesPlayed for 5 head coaches at 3 schools: Derek Mason, Bryan Harsin, Cadillac Williams, Hugh Freeze and Dave Doeren.
