Senior defensive lineman for Michigan State. 2025: 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 13 tackles.
6′5″ · 325 lb · Wyoming, MI
The numbers
sacks · 2025
2 TFL · 13 tackles · 1 hurries
Best game: 1 sacks, 1 TFL, 5 tackles, at Iowa
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman for Michigan State. 2025: 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 13 tackles.
Ru'Quan Buckley
Wins his gap play after play. Across four seasons and two programs, three head coaches: Scott Frost, Matt Rhule and Jonathan Smith. The receipt: 5 tackles, 1 sacks against Iowa — Week 13, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
The role got bigger.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mel Tucker → Jonathan Smith. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (13th 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 · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 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 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Michigan State | 13 | 11 | 2.0 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Michigan State | 9 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Nebraska | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 24 | 15 | 4.0 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2025
W 41–24
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | W 41-24vs Youngstown State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 31-45@ USC | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 13-38vs UCLA | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 13-38@ Indiana | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 20-31vs Michigan | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 10-28vs Penn State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 17-20@ Iowa | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 38-28vs Maryland | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 11 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
13 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2 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.
2026 Outlook
Michigan State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Michigan State
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Michigan State · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #61 · 2026 recruiting class #45
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Chris McClellan’s 2025 season.
Matches Chris on
Differs from Chris on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Chris McClellan's senior season at Missouri (2025).
Matches Chris on
Differs from Chris on
Player DNA