Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 15-10@ TCU | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 35-3vs East Tennessee State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#2
Kaleb Cost
Senior defensive back on North Carolina's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 195 lb · Atlanta, GA · Sandy Creek
CFB Index 51 · #175 of 364 cornersLow confidenceReturning to North Carolina for 2026
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
3★
CB recruit
No. 769 nationally · Signed with North Carolina
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on North Carolina's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to North Carolina in 2023.
Kaleb Cost
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Kaleb Cost has played for three head coaches in four seasons at North Carolina. The receipt on tape: 4 tackles against TCU, Week 1, 2026.
6 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
2023
- Signed with North Carolina3-star out of Sandy Creek
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
North Carolina
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coaches2023
North Carolina
2024era →
Freddie Kitchens
North Carolina
2025–2026era →
Bill Belichick
North Carolina
Played under 3 different head coaches: Mack Brown, Freddie Kitchens, and Bill Belichick. Multi-era developmental context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023North Carolina8-5HC: Mack Brown · Balanced
2024North Carolina6-7HC: Freddie Kitchens · Run-leaning
2025North Carolina4-8HC: Bill Belichick · Balanced, slow tempo
2026North Carolina2-0HC: Bill Belichick · Balanced, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Low confidence
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 splits
Through 2 games: 3.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
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.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Part-time starter
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
51 · #175 of 364 corners
Three-star recruit. Now #175 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #37 of 75 ACC DBs
How the All-ACC 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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | North Carolina | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | North Carolina | 45 | 33 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | North Carolina | 61 | 43 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 4 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | North Carolina | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Career | 117 | 83 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 11 | 3 | 1 |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 15–10
at TCU
4 TOT · 4 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 5 on the road.
With B. Edwards — 232 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 77.2 · -4 rush yds (7 car) · A. Burrell — 28 LONG · 67 PCT · 7 PTS
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
North Carolina
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · North Carolina
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: -12 net (19 in / 31 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
North Carolina · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #28 · 2026 recruiting class #19
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jordan Anderson’s 2022 season.
Matches Jordan on
PD rate
Interceptions
Tackle volume
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Jayden Sweeney's junior season at Florida Atlantic (2025).
Matches Jayden on
Class year
TFL rate
Weight
Player DNA
Players who play like Kaleb Cost
Background
2025 Junior Season Appeared in 11 of the team’s 12 games, missing one due to injury Started eight games at nickel Ended the season with 45 tackles, including 33 solo stops Also had two tackles for loss Tallied an interception in the season opener against TCU Logged five pass breakups Turned in hi...
The secondary · North Carolina
- #2Kaleb Cost45 tackles · 2025
- #18Jaiden Patterson33 tackles · 2025
- #1Gregory Smith20 tackles · 2025
- #16Coleman Bryson16 tackles · 2025
- #3Ade Willie16 tackles · 2025
16 more on the roster · North Carolina team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology