Kaimon Rucker: DE · North Carolina · #7.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Kaimon Rucker
Turns pressure into sacks — pressures become finishes. Played for two head coaches at North Carolina: Mack Brown and Freddie Kitchens. ACC Defensive Line Player of the Week in 2024 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. A game that shows it: 4 tackles against Boston College — Week 13, 2024.
Play style
Turns pressure into sacks — when he gets there, he finishes.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
247Sports Nov 3
Syracuse.com Oct 22Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| 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 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| 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 |
Week 9 · 2024
W 41-14
at Virginia
1 interception · 3 sacks · 3.5 tackles for loss
Dominant 27-point win on the road against Virginia.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
20%6 sacksTFL rate
27%8 TFLHurry rate
10%3 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
67%6 of 9 pressures30 tackles · 8 for loss · 6 sacks · 1 interception.
5 seasons under Mack Brown — 37-28 over that span.
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
Freddie Kitchens
Pass share
44.2%
391 pass / 493 run
Plays / game
68.0
13 games
Team sack rate
7.1%
420 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
More tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Five seasons at North Carolina, 22 sacks — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 49 games over five seasons.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-ACC · 2ND TEAM
All-ACC 2nd team (2023)
Weekly recognition
2 weekly honors (2023)
3 career weekly honors across 2 seasons
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under Mack Brown.
