Clemson · W 20-16
9 tackles, 2 for loss
The other 7 games average 4 tackles. This one was 5 above.
Kaleb Spencer
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. The four seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Mario Cristobal, Brent Pry and James Franklin. On tape: 9 tackles and 2 tackles for loss against Clemson, Week 8, 2026.
40 tackles · 3 sacks
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
40 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 9 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.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Virginia Tech | 40 | 27 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 3 | -- |
| 2025 | Virginia Tech | 67 | 31 | 9.0 | 0.5 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Virginia Tech | 32 | 22 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 | Miami | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 140 | 80 | 23.0 | 4.5 | 6 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 8): 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 73-3vs VMI | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 44-21vs Old Dominion | 4 | 3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 35-26@ Maryland | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 21-14@ Boston College | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 33-35vs Pittsburgh | 6 | 6 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 20-25@ California | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-24vs Georgia Tech | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 20-16@ Clemson | 9 | 7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Total | 40 | 27 | 9.0 | 3.0 | — | 3 |
Oct. 24 · W 20-16 at Clemson, play by play
9 tackles, including 2 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Against his own season: tied for his best backfield disruption game of the season so far.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 9 tackles for loss, 3 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Virginia Tech’s defense played that day
Clemson’s 11 drives: 7 stopped · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 7 of 11. His pbu came with Virginia Tech down 3.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
6 tackles, including 2 more for loss, 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 6, sacks included.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 3-yard loss. Third quarter, up 27-14.
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 3-yard loss. First quarter, up 14-0.
Week 8 · 2026
W 20-16
at Clemson
2 tackles for loss · 9 tackles · 1 pass breakup
A close one, won by 4 on the road.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +8 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
40tackles this seasonTFL rate
22%9 TFLSack rate
8%3 sacksPD rate
8%3 pass breakups40 tackles · 9 for loss · 3 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.2 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 5.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 9.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Pass share
48.9%
277 pass / 289 run
Plays / game
70.8
8 games
Team sack rate
9.0%
290 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Surprisingly productive for a linebacker with no award recognition yet — top-10% passes broken up, top-2% tackles behind the line.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #60 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #34 of 74 ACC LBs
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%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 30 games over four seasons.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Mario Cristobal, Brent Pry, Philip Montgomery and James Franklin.
