Senior defensive lineman on Tennessee's 2026 roster.
6′1″ · 221 lb · Maryville, TN · Maryville
The numbers
sacks · 2025
3 tackles
3 games into 2025 so far -- Best game: 1 tackles, vs Arkansas
His career numbers, season by seasonMike Bethea II
He has spent two seasons in the Tennessee defensive front. The receipt on tape: 1 tackles against Arkansas, Week 7, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
Career arc
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Josh Heupel — 18-8 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
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 · Per-game
2025 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Josh Heupel
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2025
W 72–17
1 SOLO · 1 TOT
Dominant 55-point win at home against East Tennessee State.
With J. Aguilar — 288 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 74.4 · J. Merklinger — 118 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 89.8 · 17 rush yds (2 car)
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 72-17vs East Tennessee State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 41-44vs Georgia | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-31vs Arkansas | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
2026 Outlook
Tennessee
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Tennessee
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Tennessee · Last season: 8-5 (AP #18) · Talent rank #13 · 2026 recruiting class #8
CAREER Veteran edge rusher who made his mark on special teams in 2025 … Enters his third season at Tennessee in 2026 … Redshirted in 2024 after joining the program as a walk-on from Maryville College, where he was an All-CSS second team selection as a sophomore in 2023 … Played in 12 career games...
18 more on the roster · Tennessee team page