Former defensive lineman at Northwestern. Career stats, games and honors on CFB Zeitgeist.
6′6″ · 270 lb · Frankfort, IL
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
SDE recruit
No. 714 nationally · Signed with Lincoln-Way East
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former defensive lineman at Northwestern. Career stats, games and honors on CFB Zeitgeist.
Sean McLaughlin
Wins his gap play after play. Sean McLaughlin has played for two head coaches in five seasons at Northwestern. The receipt: 3 tackles against Iowa — Week 9, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at Northwestern, 4 sacks — his college career is complete.
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Pat Fitzgerald → David Braun. 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 (14th 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
2024 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 2.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
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 · 2024
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Northwestern | 14 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Northwestern | 18 | 8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 5 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Northwestern | 31 | 17 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Northwestern | 11 | 8 | 1.5 | 1.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2020 | Northwestern | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 76 | 42 | 9.0 | 3.5 | 8 | -- | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 13-6vs Miami (OH) | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 5-24@ Washington | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-41vs Indiana | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 37-10@ Maryland | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 3-23vs Wisconsin | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 9 | L 14-40@ Iowa | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 7-31vs Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 6-50@ Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
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
14 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0.5 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.
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Emmanuel Johnson’s 2023 season.
Matches Emmanuel on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Justin Beadles's graduate season at Louisville (2025).
Matches Justin on
Player DNA