Sutton Smith: DE · Northern Illinois · #15.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Sutton Smith
Wins the corner before the tackle can set. Third year in the same defensive front at Northern Illinois. All-MAC in 2018 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 7 tackles and 5 tackles for loss against Western Michigan — Week 13, 2018.
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
45 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 20 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.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Northern Illinois | 45 | 32 | 20.0 | 12.0 | -- |
| 2017 | Northern Illinois | 63 | 43 | 30.0 | 14.0 | 3 |
| 2016 | Northern Illinois | 15 | 7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | -- |
| Career | 123 | 82 | 52.0 | 27.0 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 7-33@ Iowa | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 6-17vs Utah | 8 | 6 | 4.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 24-16vs Central Michigan | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-37@ Florida State | 4 | 2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 26-23@ Eastern Michigan | 4 | 2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 24-16@ Ball State | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 24-21vs Ohio | 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 9 | W 7-6@ BYU | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 36-26@ Akron | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 38-15vs Toledo | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 12 | L 7-13vs Miami (OH) | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 21-28@ Western Michigan | 7 | 7 | 5.0 | 4.0 | — | 0 | 4 sacks |
| Total | 45 | 32 | 20.0 | 12.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
27%12 sacksTFL rate
44%20 TFLHurry rate
13%6 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
67%12 of 18 pressures45 tackles · 20 for loss · 12 sacks.
3 seasons under Rod Carey — 21-18 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Road7g | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.1 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rod Carey
Pass share
40.4%
375 pass / 554 run
Plays / game
66.4
14 games
Team sack rate
8.8%
455 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2018
First team in his league at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Northern Illinois, 27 sacks, a first-team All-Conference season (2018) — drafted at #175 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A stat line in 35 games over three seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 1ST TEAM
All-MAC 1st team (2018)
Coaching lineage · 2015–2018
1 coachPlayed every college season under Rod Carey.
Next stop · NFL
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 8th NFL season
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 8th NFL season
