Sydney Brown: DB · Illinois · #30.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Sydney Brown
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Played for three head coaches at Illinois: Lovie Smith, Rod Smith and Bret Bielema. All-Big Ten in 2022 was the second season with an honor. One game to point at: 8 tackles against Michigan — Week 12, 2022.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
59 tackles. 7 passes defended. 6 interceptions. 3.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
LancasterOnline Oct 25
Yahoo Sports Oct 25Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-6vs Wyoming | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 1 | L 20-23@ Indiana | 8 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 24-3vs Virginia | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-0vs Chattanooga | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-10@ Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | W 9-6vs Iowa | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 7 | W 26-14vs Minnesota | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 26-9@ Nebraska | 6 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 15-23vs Michigan State | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 24-31vs Purdue | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 17-19@ No. 3 Michigan | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 41-3@ Northwestern | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 40 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 6 | 7 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
12%7 pass breakupsInterceptions
6interceptionsTackle volume
59tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%4 TFL59 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1 sack · 7 pass breakups · 6 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.9 |
| Road5g | 5.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 6.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
42.6%
393 pass / 530 run
Plays / game
71.0
13 games
Team sack rate
7.0%
388 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2022
First team in his league at the position.
The All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #4 of 322 FBS cornerbacks by CFB Zeitgeist Score.2022 profile
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #4 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Illinois, 307 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2022) — drafted at #66 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.
A stat line in 49 games over five seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2022)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2022)
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2018–2022
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Lovie Smith → Bret Bielema. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Next stop · NFL
Philadelphia EaglesEntering 4th NFL season
Philadelphia EaglesEntering 4th NFL seasonFrom London, ON.
