Played for two head coaches at two programs in two seasons: Terry Smith and James Franklin. A game that shows it: 4 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss against Old Dominion — Week 2, 2026.
11 tackles · 4.5 sacks
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Disrupts the pocket from the interior.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
ODW 44-21 vs Old DominionSept. 124 tkl3 TFL, 2 skBig game · tied for 4th-most sacks in FBS that week
A big game: 4 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 2 sacks, tied for 4th-most sacks in FBS that week. The fumble he forced ended Old Dominion’s drive (fumble).
Dominant 23-point win at home against Old Dominion.
Where he ranks
Tackles for loss9tied for 6th in the ACC this season.
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.
Opponents faced, by strength
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +5 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Defensive profile
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
82%9 TFL
Sack rate
41%4 sacks
Hurry rate
18%2 hurries
11 tackles · 9 for loss · 4.5 sacks.
Teams and coaches
2025Penn State7-6HC: James Franklin and Terry Smith · Run-leaning
2026Virginia Tech6-2HC: James Franklin · Balanced
Our ratings
CFB Zeitgeist Score 45 (#235 of 405). Show the ratings
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
45Rotational starter #235 of 405· through 6 games?
6 metrics · season cumulative
through 6 games score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: tackles for loss (99th percentile). Strength: sacks (97th percentile). Concern: tackles (8th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Tackles for loss#31 / 2515 · 99th pct
9.0
Sacks#60 / 2515 · 97th pct
4.5
QB hurries#396 / 2515 · 79th pct
2
Solo tackles#1805 / 2515 · 24th pct
7
Passes defended#1494 / 2515 · 20th pct
0
Tackles#2240 / 2515 · 8th pct
11
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
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home/Road · Season halves
Home vs Road
TKL/g
TFL/g
SACK/g
PD/g
Home3g
2.7
2.2
1.2
0.0
Road3g
1.0
0.8
0.3
0.0
First half vs Second half
TKL/g
TFL/g
SACK/g
PD/g
Weeks 1-75g
2.0
1.6
0.7
0.0
Weeks 8+1g
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.0
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
2026 season
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.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
11 tackles in 6 games
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
45 · #235 of 405 edge rushers · through 6 games
Former four-star. Now #235 at the position.
Three seasons, two schools
2026 is in progress.
2026 Virginia Tech Franklin
Year 3 · 6 games
Jan 2026 Entered the transfer portal
Penn State to Virginia Tech
2025 Penn State Franklin
Year 2 · 2 games
2024 Penn State Franklin
Year 1 · on the roster, no stat line
High school Monsignor Bonner
Drexel Hill, PA · Class of 2024
Four-star, No. 281 in the 2024 class. Signed with Penn State.