#92

Kahlil Saunders

Senior defensive lineman for Kentucky. 2025: 2 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, 29 tackles.

DL · Kentucky · Sr. · #92

6′5″ · 293 lb · Huntsville, AL

CFB Index 42 · #259 of 420 edge rushersLow confidenceReturning to Kentucky for 2026

How he plays

Wins his gap play after play.

QB hurries: 88th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

sacks · 2025

3.5 TFL · 29 tackles · 4 hurries

Best game: 1.5 sacks, 1.5 TFL, 4 tackles, at Auburn

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive lineman for Kentucky. 2025: 2 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, 29 tackles.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Kentucky in 2021.

His career, year by year

Kahlil Saunders

DL · Kentucky · Sr · #92

Wins his gap play after play. Fifth year in the Kentucky defensive front, same address the whole way. The receipt: 6 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Georgia — Week 6, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
seasons on the roster
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

5 seasons under Mark Stoops — 33-30 over that span.

2021Kentucky10-3HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning

2022Kentucky7-6HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2023Kentucky7-6HC: Mark Stoops · Balanced, slow tempo

2024Kentucky4-8HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2025Kentucky5-7HC: Mark Stoops · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

42Rotational starter #259 of 420?

Medium confidenceBreakout6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (88th percentile). Concern: passes defended (18th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

QB hurries#288 / 2975 · 88th pct

Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct

2.0

Tackles for loss#866 / 2975 · 69th pct

3.5

Tackles#1415 / 2975 · 52nd pct

Solo tackles#1434 / 2975 · 50th pct

Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th 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

2025 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	2.3	0.2	0.0	0.0
Road5g	3.0	0.5	0.4	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-75g	3.4	0.1	0.0	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	2.0	0.5	0.3	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Will Stein

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

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Part-time starter

Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

42 · #259 of 420 edge rushers

Three-star recruit. Now #259 at the position.

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-SEC

Based on 2025: #37 of 60 SEC DLs

How the All-SEC estimate is computed

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.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Kentucky	29	15	3.5	2.0	--	--	--
2024	Kentucky	15	7	2.0	0.5	--	--	--
2023	Kentucky	17	10	3.5	1.5	--	--	--
2022	Kentucky	13	2	1.0	0.5	--	--	--
2021	Kentucky	2	2	2.0	0.0	--	--	--
Career		76	36	12.0	4.5	--	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 10 · 2025

W 10–3

at Auburn

4 TOT · 2 SOLO · 1 SACKS

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 on the road.

With A. Laros — 44 AVG · 6 IN 20 · 57 LONG · C. Boley — 161 yds · 1 TD · 2 INT · QBR 60.5 · 7 rush yds (6 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	Note
Wk 1	W 24-16vs Toledo	0	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 2	L 23-30vs Ole Miss	5	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 3	W 48-23vs Eastern Michigan	3	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 5	L 13-35@ South Carolina	3	3	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 6	L 14-35@ Georgia	6	3	0.5	0.0	—	Season-high 6 tackles
Wk 8	L 13-16vs Texas	2	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 9	L 34-56vs Tennessee	3	2	1.0	0.0	—
Wk 10	W 10-3@ Auburn	4	2	1.5	1.5	—
Wk 11	W 38-7vs Florida	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 13	L 17-45@ Vanderbilt	2	0	0.5	0.5	—
Wk 14	L 0-41@ Louisville	0	0	0.0	0.0	—
Total		29	15	3.5	2.0	—