Senior defensive lineman for UCLA. 2025: 1 sack, 4 tackles for loss, 18 tackles.
6′4″ · 265 lb · Westminster, MD
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
How he plays
Disrupts the pocket from the interior.
Tackles for loss: 73rd percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
sack · 2025
4 TFL · 18 tackles
Best game: 1 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 tackles, vs Penn State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman for UCLA. 2025: 1 sack, 4 tackles for loss, 18 tackles.
Jacob Busic
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Four head coaches in five seasons, at two different programs. His first career honor landed in 2022: All-AAC. The receipt on tape: 4 tackles against USC, Week 14, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The snaps went the other way.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC
All-AAC mention (2022)
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Chip Kelly, Deshaun Foster, and Tim Skipper. Multi-era developmental context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: passes defended (18th percentile).
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 · Per-game
2025 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bob Chesney
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #69 of 69 Big Ten DLs
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 6 · 2025
W 42–37
vs Penn State
2 TOT · 2 SOLO · 1 SACKS
Edged out Penn State at home in a shootout.
With N. Iamaleava — 166 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 96.7 · 128 rush yds (16 car) · 3 TD · K. Gilmer — 5 rec · 79 yds · 1 TD
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 10-43vs Utah | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-17@ Northwestern | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 42-37vs Penn State | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 20-17vs Maryland | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 6-56@ Indiana | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 11 | L 21-28vs Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 10-48@ Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 10-29@ USC | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 18 | 12 | 4.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
18 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 4 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.
2026 Outlook
UCLA
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · UCLA
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
UCLA · Last season: 3-9 · Talent rank #25 · 2026 recruiting class #62
Player DNA
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Quindarius Dunnigan’s 2024 season.
Matches Quindarius on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Demon Clowney's graduate season at Charlotte (2024).
Matches Demon on
Differs from Demon on
Player DNA