#92

Forrest Merrill

Senior defensive lineman for Arkansas State. 2020: 2 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 42 tackles.

DL · Arkansas State · Sr. · #92

6′1″ · 338 lb · Willard, MO

All-ConferenceArkansas State 2020 alumnus

Recruiting

2★

DT recruit

No. 382 nationally · Joined Arkansas State

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive lineman for Arkansas State. 2020: 2 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 42 tackles.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Arkansas State in 2019.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at Arkansas State, 8 sacks — his college career is complete.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

20194 games

Signed with Arkansas State2-star out of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M

202011 games

The role got bigger.

All-Sun Beltsecond

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#382 national

CFB

College

Arkansas State

2018–2020

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

2 honors · 1 category

🎖

ALL-SUN BELT · 2ND TEAM

All-Sun Belt 2nd team (2020)

Coaching lineage · 2018–2020

1 coach

2018–2020

Blake Anderson

Arkansas State

Played his entire career under Blake Anderson.

2020 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Blake Anderson — 20-17 over that span.

2018Arkansas State8-5HC: Blake Anderson · Balanced, fast tempo

2019Arkansas State8-5HC: Blake Anderson · Balanced

2020Arkansas State4-7HC: Blake Anderson · Balanced, fast tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles for loss (89th percentile). Strength: sacks (82nd percentile). Concern: passes defended (21st percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Tackles for loss#225 / 2211 · 89th pct

6.5

Sacks#326 / 2211 · 82nd pct

2.0

Tackles#416 / 2211 · 81st pct

Solo tackles#517 / 2211 · 75th pct

Forced fumbles#39 / 497 · 46th pct

QB hurries#917 / 2211 · 29th pct

Passes defended#1276 / 2211 · 21st 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

2020 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home5g	3.0	0.7	0.4	0.0
Road6g	4.5	0.5	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-75g	3.6	0.8	0.0	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	4.0	0.4	0.3	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Butch Jones

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

Awards

Player standing · 2020

All-Conference

Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2020	Arkansas State	42	23	6.5	2.0	--	--	--
2019	Arkansas State	21	6	4.5	3.5	1	--	--
2018	Arkansas State	51	17	6.5	3.0	1	--	--
Career		114	46	17.5	8.5	2	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 6 · 2020

W 50–27

vs Central Arkansas

1 TOT · 1 SOLO

Dominant 23-point win at home against Central Arkansas.

With R. Hanson — 52 AVG · 3 IN 20 · 69 LONG · L. Bonner — 239 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 14 rush yds (2 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2020 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	Note
Wk 1	L 24-37@ Memphis	7	6	1.0	0.0	—	Season-high 7 tackles
Wk 2	W 35-31@ Kansas State	2	0	0.5	0.0	—
Wk 5	L 23-52@ Coastal Carolina	6	1	1.5	0.0	—
Wk 6	W 50-27vs Central Arkansas	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 7	W 59-52vs Georgia State	2	2	1.0	0.0	—
Wk 8	L 17-45@ App State	7	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 9	L 10-38vs Troy	2	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 10	L 20-27@ Louisiana	4	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 12	L 45-47@ Texas State	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 13	L 31-38vs South Alabama	5	4	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 14	W 48-15vs UL Monroe	5	3	1.5	1.0	—
Total		42	23	6.5	2.0	—

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