“The name "John Slaughter" goes hard”
John Slaughter
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. The four seasons span three programs and three head coaches: Josh Heupel, Deion Sanders and Barry Odom. On tape: 10 tackles against UCLA, Week 3, 2026.
43 tackles · 0 sacks
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
43 tackles. 1 pass defended. 1 interception. 0.5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
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 44-19vs Indiana State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 36-38vs Wake Forest | 9 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 38-52@ UCLA | 10 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 10-49vs No. 3 Notre Dame | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-17@ Illinois | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 41-13vs Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 26-38vs Washington | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 17-31@ Penn State | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 43 | 27 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
Oct. 31 · L 17-31 at Penn State, play by play
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
How Purdue’s defense played that day
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 6, sacks included.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception ended Illinois’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, up 24-10. Ended Illinois’s drive (int).
5 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 4 of his 5, sacks included.
10 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 5 · 2026
W 24-17
at Illinois
1 interception · 4 tackles · 3 solo tackles
A close one, won by 7 on the road.
Ratings of the games shown run from +4 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
2%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
43tackles this seasonTFL rate
1%0 TFL43 tackles · 0.5 for loss · 1 pass breakup · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 6.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Barry Odom
Pass share
50.8%
265 pass / 257 run
Plays / game
65.2
8 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
297 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
43 tackles in 8 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 #151 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 3 schools: Josh Heupel, Deion Sanders and Barry Odom.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Purdue
