#40

Sean Folliard

Linebacker for Northern Illinois. 2016: 81 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.

LB · Northern Illinois · #40

6′2″ · Crystal Lake, IL

Northern Illinois 2016 alumnus

Recruiting

2★

OLB recruit

No. 3010 nationally · Signed with Northern Illinois

Statement game17 tackles · 2.5 TFL · 1 sackat Ball State (FBS) · W 31-24

Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

2016 linebacker for Northern Illinois. 2016: 81 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Northern Illinois in 2013.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at Northern Illinois, 81 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

He barely played early on. Then he did not come off the field.

2013

Signed with Northern Illinois2-star out of Prairie Ridge

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#3010 national

CFB

College

Northern Illinois

2014–2016

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2014–2016

1 coach

2014–2016

Rod Carey

Northern Illinois

Played his entire career under Rod Carey.

2016 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Rod Carey — 24-16 over that span.

2014Northern Illinois11-3HC: Rod Carey · Run-heavy, fast tempo

2015Northern Illinois8-6HC: Rod Carey · Run-heavy

2016Northern Illinois5-7HC: Rod Carey · Run-leaning, fast tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles (93rd percentile). Strength: solo tackles (91st percentile). Concern: qb hurries (28th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Tackles#185 / 2668 · 93rd pct

Solo tackles#240 / 2668 · 91st pct

Tackles for loss#365 / 2668 · 85th pct

7.0

Sacks#489 / 2668 · 78th pct

2.0

Passes defended#513 / 2668 · 76th pct

QB hurries#1174 / 2668 · 28th pct

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 & context

Splits · Per-game

2016 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	6.0	0.5	0.2	0.2
Road5g	9.0	0.8	0.2	0.4

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	8.0	0.6	0.1	0.3
Weeks 8+4g	6.2	0.6	0.2	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Rob Harley

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2016

Starter

A locked-in starting job.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2016	Northern Illinois	81	46	7.0	2.0	3	--	--
2015	Northern Illinois	--	--	--	--	--	1	--
2014	Northern Illinois	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
Career		81	46	7.0	2.0	3	1	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 10 · 2016

W 45–20

vs Bowling Green

8 TOT · 4 SOLO

Dominant 25-point win at home against Bowling Green.

With A. Maddie — 185 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 78.1 · 93 rush yds (14 car) · 1 TD · J. Ambrose — 36 AVG · 51 LONG · 5 NO

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week