Kyle Kennard: EDGE · South Carolina · #5.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Kyle Kennard
Wins the corner before the tackle can set. Played for three head coaches at two programs in five seasons: Geoff Collins, Brent Key and Shane Beamer. All-America (Consensus) in 2024 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 3 tackles against Texas A&M — Week 10, 2024.
Play style
Bends the edge and wins with first-step quickness. Lighter frame, relentless motor.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
29 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 16.5 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.
On3 Oct 24
247Sports Oct 20Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | South Carolina | 29 | 21 | 16.5 | 11.5 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Georgia Tech | 49 | 29 | 11.0 | 6.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2022 | Georgia Tech | 36 | 19 | 4.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Georgia Tech | 15 | 5 | 3.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- |
| 2020 | Georgia Tech | 7 | 5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -- | -- |
| Career | 136 | 79 | 38.0 | 24.0 | 1 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 23-19vs Old Dominion | 5 | 4 | 4.5 | 2.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 sacks |
| Wk 2 | W 31-6@ Kentucky | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 33-36vs No. 16 LSU | 3 | 2 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 4 | W 50-7vs Akron | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 3-27vs No. 12 Ole Miss | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 25-27@ No. 7 Alabama | 7 | 6 | 3.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 8 | W 35-9@ Oklahoma | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 44-20vs No. 10 Texas A&M | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 28-7@ No. 24 Vanderbilt | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 34-30vs No. 24 Missouri | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 56-12vs Wofford | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 21 | 16.5 | 11.5 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
40%12 sacksTFL rate
57%16 TFLHurry rate
31%9 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
56%12 of 20 pressures29 tackles · 16.5 for loss · 11.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| Road4g | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Shane Beamer
Pass share
38.8%
341 pass / 537 run
Plays / game
67.5
13 games
Team sack rate
8.9%
392 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2024
First team on a majority of the recognized selector lists.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #10 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2024
Named Consensus All-American — recognized on 3+ of the 5 NCAA-recognized selector lists.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Georgia Tech and South Carolina, 24 sacks, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (2024) — drafted at #125 overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · CONSENSUS
Consensus AA (2024)
6 first-team selectors
National awards
Nagurski
2024 season
ALL-SEC · 1ST TEAM
All-SEC 1st team (2024)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2023)
ACC Defensive Line Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Geoff Collins, Brent Key and Shane Beamer.
Next stop · NFL
Los Angeles ChargersEntering 2nd NFL season
Los Angeles ChargersEntering 2nd NFL season
