Kevon Merrell
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. The three seasons at East Carolina span two head coaches: Mike Houston and Blake Harrell. On tape: 9 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Rice, Week 6, 2026.
43 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
43 tackles. 2 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | East Carolina | 43 | 17 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2025 | East Carolina | 27 | 18 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | East Carolina | 12 | 7 | 1.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 82 | 42 | 9.5 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 3 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 10-48@ No. 13 Alabama | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-27vs App State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 20-17@ Old Dominion | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 42-9vs North Carolina Central | 5 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 28-12vs Rice | 9 | 4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 17-30@ UAB | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | L 34-41@ Memphis | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 17-9vs Temple | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 43 | 17 | 3.5 | 1.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 17-9 vs Temple, play by play
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 2 of his 3, sacks included.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 3 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 8 games with play by play.
How East Carolina’s defense played that day
Temple’s 9 drives: 6 stopped (3 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 6.
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up. His pass breakup on 4th and 3 ended Rice’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 3. First quarter, up 7-0. Ended Rice’s drive (downs).
Sacked the quarterback for a 5-yard loss on 3rd and 12. Second quarter, up 7-0.
5 tackles, including 2 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
6 tackles.
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +21 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%2 pass breakupsTackle volume
43tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%4 TFL43 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1 sack · 2 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 5.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Blake Harrell
Pass share
45.5%
245 pass / 294 run
Plays / game
67.4
8 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
277 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
43 tackles in 8 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #136 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-AAC
Based on 2025: #16 of 28 American Athletic DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 27 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mike Houston → Blake Harrell. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
