Former defensive end at North Carolina. 2024: 6 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 30 tackles.
6′2″ · 265 lb · Hartwell, GA
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.
Recruiting
SDE recruit
No. 1264 nationally · Signed with Hart County
Statement game8 tackles · 3.5 TFL · 3 sacksat Virginia (FBS) · W 41-14
Top 1% tackles for loss game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former defensive end at North Carolina. 2024: 6 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 30 tackles.
Kaimon Rucker
Turns pressure into sacks — when he gets there, he finishes. Kaimon Rucker has been at North Carolina through two head coaches in five seasons. ACC Defensive Line Player of the Week in 2024 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. The receipt: 4 tackles against Boston College — Week 13, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at North Carolina, 22 sacks — his college career is complete.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The role got bigger.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-ACC · 2ND TEAM
All-ACC 2nd team (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mack Brown → Freddie Kitchens. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: sacks (97th percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (92nd 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
2024 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 3.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 5.2 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bill Belichick
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2024
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | North Carolina | 30 | 16 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | North Carolina | 61 | 34 | 15.0 | 8.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | North Carolina | 34 | 18 | 7.0 | 3.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | North Carolina | 30 | 17 | 5.5 | 4.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2020 | North Carolina | 21 | 12 | 3.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 176 | 97 | 38.5 | 22.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2024
W 19–17
at Minnesota
1 PD · 2 TFL · 1 SACKS
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 2 on the road.
With T. Maginness — 51 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 55 LONG · O. Hampton — 129 rush yds (30 car)
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 7 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 19-17@ Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-34vs Pittsburgh | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 34-41vs Georgia Tech | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 41-14@ Virginia | 8 | 5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 10 | W 35-11@ Florida State | 5 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 31-24vs Wake Forest | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 21-41@ Boston College | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 16 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 1 | 1 |
Play style
Turns pressure into sacks — when he gets there, he finishes.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Turns pressure into sacks — when he gets there, he finishes.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Jamil Muhammad’s 2021 season.
Matches Jamil on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Jasiyah Robinson's graduate season at East Carolina (2025).
Matches Jasiyah on
Player DNA