Houshun Gaines: DL · Virginia Tech · #11.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Houshun Gaines
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Three seasons in the Virginia Tech defensive front to date. A game that shows it: 4 tackles and 2.5 sacks against Duke — Week 5, 2018.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
22 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
The Roanoke Times Oct 23
TigerNet Oct 20Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Virginia Tech | 22 | 14 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 1 |
| 2017 | Virginia Tech | 24 | 17 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 1 |
| 2016 | Virginia Tech | 5 | -- | 0.5 | 0.5 | -- |
| Career | 51 | 31 | 12.5 | 8.0 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-3@ No. 19 Florida State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 62-17vs William & Mary | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 35-49@ Old Dominion | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 31-14@ No. 22 Duke | 4 | 2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 sacks |
| Wk 6 | L 23-45vs No. 6 Notre Dame | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 22-19@ North Carolina | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 28-49vs Georgia Tech | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-31vs No. 24 Boston College | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 22-52@ Pittsburgh | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 14 | 5.0 | 4.5 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
23%5 TFLSack rate
20%4 sacksHurry rate
27%6 hurries22 tackles · 5 for loss · 4.5 sacks.
3 seasons under Justin Fuente — 25-15 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 2.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Justin Fuente
Pass share
45.6%
428 pass / 510 run
Plays / game
72.2
13 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
461 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2018
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Three seasons at Virginia Tech, 8 sacks — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2015–2018
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Frank Beamer → Justin Fuente. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
