Gregory Smith
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Played for two head coaches across three seasons and two programs. On tape: 10 tackles against Duke, Week 7, 2026.
48 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
48 tackles. 4 passes defended. 3 interceptions. 1 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
247Sports Nov 3
Syracuse.com Oct 22Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | North Carolina | 48 | 26 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 |
| 2025 | North Carolina | 20 | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2024 | Florida | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 73 | 43 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 4 |
Last game (Wk 9): 6 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 15-10vs TCU | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-3vs East Tennessee State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 20-28@ Clemson | 7 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 26-37vs No. 3 Notre Dame | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 21-17@ No. 25 Pittsburgh | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 24-20@ Duke | 10 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 30-31vs Syracuse | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | L 35-38vs No. 1 Miami | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 48 | 26 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 4 |
Oct. 31 · L 35-38 vs Miami, play by play
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: taking the ball away — 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble in the 8 games with play by play.
How North Carolina’s defense played that day
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. His pass breakup on 4th and 18 ended Syracuse’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 18. Fourth quarter, tied 23-23. Ended Syracuse’s drive (downs).
10 tackles, including 2 passes broken up, tied for 10th-most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 9 of his 10, sacks included.
8 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception on 4th and 2 ended Pittsburgh’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 4th and 2. Third quarter, down 10-7. Ended Pittsburgh’s drive (int).
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 interception. His interception ended Clemson’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Forced a fumble. First quarter, up 14-3. Ended Clemson’s drive (fumble).
Intercepted. Third quarter, up 17-6. Ended Clemson’s drive (int).
3 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception on 3rd and 10 ended East Tennessee State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
Intercepted on 3rd and 10. First quarter, tied 0-0. Ended East Tennessee State’s drive (int).
6 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. His pass breakup on 4th and 10 ended TCU’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 6, sacks included.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 10. Second quarter, tied 10-10. Ended TCU’s drive (downs).
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -3 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
8%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
3interceptionsTackle volume
48tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%1 TFL48 tackles · 1 for loss · 4 pass breakups · 3 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 8.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bill Belichick
Pass share
50.8%
241 pass / 233 run
Plays / game
59.2
8 games
Team sack rate
6.7%
267 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
48 tackles in 8 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #16 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #67 of 74 ACC LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 20 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Billy Napier and Bill Belichick.
