Kahlil Saunders is a defensive lineman who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Kentucky.
Saunders wins the gap play after play. Fifth year in the Kentucky defensive front. A game that shows it: 6 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Georgia — Week 6, 2025.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
29 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 3.5 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.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-16vs Toledo | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 23-30vs No. 20 Ole Miss | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-23vs Eastern Michigan | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 13-35@ South Carolina | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 14-35@ No. 12 Georgia | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 13-16vs No. 21 Texas | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 34-56vs No. 17 Tennessee | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 10-3@ Auburn | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 38-7vs Florida | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 17-45@ No. 12 Vanderbilt | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 0-41@ Louisville | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 15 | 3.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Week 10 · 2025
W 10-3
at Auburn
1.5 sacks · 1.5 tackles for loss · 4 tackles
A close one, won by 7 on the road.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
12%4 TFLSack rate
7%2 sacksHurry rate
14%4 hurries29 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 2 sacks.
5 seasons under Mark Stoops — 33-30 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
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
Head Coach
Mark Stoops
Pass share
46.2%
366 pass / 427 run
Plays / game
66.1
12 games
Team sack rate
6.8%
409 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #259 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #37 of 60 SEC DLs
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%).
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
1 coachPlayed every college season under Mark Stoops.
