Pheldarius Payne: DL · Virginia Tech.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Pheldarius Payne
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. The three seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Scott Frost and Brent Pry. A game that shows it: 7 tackles and 3 tackles for loss against Virginia — Week 13, 2023.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
28 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 8.5 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.
The Roanoke Times Oct 23
TigerNet Oct 20Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Virginia Tech | 28 | 8 | 8.5 | 4.0 | 1 |
| 2021 | Nebraska | 19 | 4 | 2.5 | 2.0 | -- |
| 2020 | Nebraska | 21 | 8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Career | 68 | 20 | 13.0 | 7.0 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 36-17vs Old Dominion | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 16-35@ Rutgers | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 17-24@ Marshall | 4 | 1 | 2.0 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 38-21vs Pittsburgh | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-39@ No. 5 Florida State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 30-13vs Wake Forest | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 38-10vs Syracuse | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 48-22@ Boston College | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 28-35vs NC State | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 55-17@ Virginia | 7 | 2 | 3.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 7 tackles |
 Bowl | W 41-20vs No. 23 Tulane | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 8 | 8.5 | 4.0 | — | 1 |
Week 13 · 2023
W 55-17
at Virginia
1 sack · 3 tackles for loss · 7 tackles
Dominant 38-point win on the road against Virginia.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
30%8 TFLSack rate
14%4 sacksHurry rate
18%5 hurries28 tackles · 8.5 for loss · 4 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Pry
Pass share
41.9%
356 pass / 493 run
Plays / game
65.3
13 games
Team sack rate
5.8%
379 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #148 at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons, at Nebraska and Virginia Tech, 7 sacks — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 25 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2023
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Scott Frost and Brent Pry.
