Senior defensive lineman for Northwestern. 2021: 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, 27 tackles.
6′3″ · 270 lb · Houston, TX
The story
4 defensive lineman for Northwestern. 2021: 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, 27 tackles.
The record fills in as he plays.
His career, year by yearSam Miller
Wins his gap play after play. He has spent four seasons in the Northwestern defensive front. The receipt on tape: 11 tackles against Duke, Week 3, 2021.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Northwestern, 9 sacks — his college career is complete.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Pat Fitzgerald.
Season context · Team result + system
4 seasons under Pat Fitzgerald — 25-26 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: qb hurries (24th 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
2021 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 5.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 5.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
David Braun
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 1 game in so far.
Player standing · 2021
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Northwestern | 27 | 14 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Northwestern | 29 | 18 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2018 | Northwestern | 53 | 27 | 7.0 | 1.5 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2017 | Northwestern | 32 | 16 | 8.5 | 5.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 141 | 75 | 20.5 | 9.0 | 5 | -- | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 7 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-38vs Michigan State | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 23-30@ Duke | 11 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 7-56@ Nebraska | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 21-7vs Rutgers | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 7-33@ Michigan | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 14-41vs Minnesota | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 12-17vs Iowa | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 14 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 1 |
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2021 production profile sits closest to Christopher Love’s 2021 season.
Matches Christopher on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Ezra Christensen's junior season at Fresno State (2023).
Matches Ezra on
Player DNA