Smith Vilbert

Senior defensive lineman for North Carolina. 2025: 1 sack, 6 tackles for loss, 22 tackles.

DL · North Carolina · Sr. · #8

6′6″ · 282 lb · Montvale, NJ

CFB Index 50 · #213 of 420 edge rushersLow confidenceReturning to North Carolina for 2026

How he plays

Disrupts the pocket from the interior.

QB hurries: 92nd percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

sack · 2025

6 TFL · 22 tackles · 5 hurries

Best game: 1 sacks, 1 TFL, 4 tackles, vs Stanford

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive lineman for North Carolina. 2025: 1 sack, 6 tackles for loss, 22 tackles.

Transferred from Penn State to North Carolina in 2025.

His career, year by year

Smith Vilbert

DL · North Carolina · Sr · #8

Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Across four seasons and two programs, two head coaches: James Franklin and Bill Belichick. One game to point at: 4 tackles, 1 TFL against Stanford — Week 11, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
head-coach lineage
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2020Penn State4-5HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2021Penn State7-6HC: James Franklin · Balanced

2024Penn State13-3HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning

2025North Carolina4-8HC: Bill Belichick · Balanced, slow tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

50Rotational starter #213 of 420?

Medium confidenceBreakout7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (92nd percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (85th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

QB hurries#188 / 2975 · 92nd pct

Tackles for loss#406 / 2975 · 85th pct

6.0

Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct

Sacks#847 / 2975 · 63rd pct

1.0

Forced fumbles#36 / 687 · 47th pct

Tackles#1869 / 2975 · 36th pct

Solo tackles#1855 / 2975 · 35th 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

2025 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	2.2	0.4	0.2	0.3
Road6g	1.5	0.6	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-75g	1.6	0.5	0.0	0.0
Weeks 8+7g	2.0	0.5	0.1	0.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Bill Belichick

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

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

50 · #213 of 420 edge rushers

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-ACC

Based on 2025: #35 of 73 ACC DLs

How the All-ACC estimate is computed

15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	North Carolina	22	11	6.0	1.0	2	--	--
2024	Penn State	11	3	3.0	1.5	1	--	--
2021	Penn State	7	6	4.0	3.0	--	--	--
2020	Penn State	1	--	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
Career		41	20	13.0	5.5	3	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2025

W 41–6

vs Richmond

1 TOT · 0 TFL

Dominant 35-point win at home against Richmond.

With D. June — 148 rush yds (14 car) · 1 TD · G. Lopez — 119 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 31.3 · 40 rush yds (11 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	L 14-48vs TCU	2	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	W 20-3@ Charlotte	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	W 41-6vs Richmond	1	0	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	L 9-34@ UCF	1	1	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 10-38vs Clemson	3	3	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 8	L 18-21@ California	1	1	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 9	L 16-17vs Virginia	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 10	W 27-10@ Syracuse	3	0	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 20-15vs Stanford	4	2	1.0	1.0	—	0	Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 12	L 12-28@ Wake Forest	2	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	L 25-32vs Duke	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	2
Wk 14	L 19-42@ NC State	1	1	1.0	0.0	—	0
Total		22	11	6.0	1.0	—	2

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Smith Vilbert

202512 games

2025 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Rotational

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

3-Tech Penetrator