PJ Spencer: DL · Northwestern · #50.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
PJ Spencer
Wins the gap play after play. Played for two head coaches at Northwestern: Pat Fitzgerald and David Braun. One game to point at: 5 tackles against Penn State — Week 5, 2023.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
21 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1.5 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.
OregonLive Oct 29Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Northwestern | 21 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2020 | Northwestern | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2019 | Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 24 | 6 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 7-24@ Rutgers | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 14-38@ No. 21 Duke | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 13-41vs No. 6 Penn State | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 33-27vs Maryland | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 24-10@ Wisconsin | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 23-15vs Purdue | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 45-43@ Illinois | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 14-7vs Utah | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
7%2 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksHurry rate
0%0 hurries21 tackles · 1.5 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 3.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 3.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
David Braun
Pass share
46.4%
384 pass / 443 run
Plays / game
63.6
13 games
Team sack rate
12.0%
426 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Four seasons at Northwestern — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Pat Fitzgerald → David Braun. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
