Kevin Hester Jr.: DL · North Carolina · #98.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Kevin Hester Jr.
Wins the gap play after play. Played for two head coaches in six seasons at North Carolina. A game that shows it: 10 tackles and 1 sack against Boston College — Week 13, 2024.
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
37 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.
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 | 37 | 21 | 3.5 | 3.5 | -- |
| 2023 | North Carolina | 30 | 12 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2022 | North Carolina | 47 | 17 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2021 | North Carolina | 20 | 6 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1 |
| 2020 | North Carolina | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2019 | North Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 145 | 63 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 19-17@ Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-10vs North Carolina Central | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 50-70vs James Madison | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 20-21@ Duke | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-34vs Pittsburgh | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 34-41vs Georgia Tech | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 41-14@ Virginia | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 35-11@ Florida State | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 31-24vs Wake Forest | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 21-41@ Boston College | 10 | 7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 14 | L 30-35vs NC State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 14-27vs UConn | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 21 | 3.5 | 3.5 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
9%4 TFLSack rate
9%4 sacksHurry rate
8%3 hurries37 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 3.5 sacks.
6 seasons under Mack Brown — 44-34 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 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
37 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Six seasons at North Carolina, 5 sacks — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under Mack Brown.
