Ryan Smith: DE · Duke · #40.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ryan Smith
Wins the corner before the tackle can set. The four seasons at Duke span four head coaches: David Cutcliffe, Mike Elko, Trooper Taylor and Manny Diaz. First career honor, 2023: ACC Defensive Line Player of the Week. On tape: 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against SMU, Week 9, 2024.
Play style
Bends the edge and wins with first-step quickness. Lighter frame, relentless motor.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
22 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 7.5 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 Daily Progress Oct 23
Yahoo Sports Oct 19Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 26-3vs Elon | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 26-20vs Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 26-21vs UConn | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 45-17@ Middle Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 21-20vs North Carolina | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 14-24@ Georgia Tech | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 23-16vs Florida State | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 27-28vs No. 22 SMU | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 31-53@ No. 5 Miami | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 29-19@ NC State | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 31-28vs Virginia Tech | 4 | 1 | 2.0 | 1.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 23-17@ Wake Forest | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
 Bowl | L 20-52vs No. 16 Ole Miss | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 11 | 7.5 | 4.0 | — | 2 |
Week 13 · 2024
W 31-28
1.5 sacks · 2 tackles for loss · 4 tackles
Edged out Virginia Tech at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
18%4 sacksTFL rate
34%8 TFLHurry rate
9%2 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
67%4 of 6 pressures22 tackles · 7.5 for loss · 4 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Manny Diaz
Pass share
56.1%
467 pass / 365 run
Plays / game
64.0
13 games
Team sack rate
2.3%
474 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #91 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Duke, 8 sacks — the college career is complete.
Recruited as a two-star, and honored since.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: David Cutcliffe, Mike Elko, and Manny Diaz. Multi-era developmental context.
