T.J. Sanders: DT · South Carolina · #90.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
T.J. Sanders
Wins the gap play after play. Fourth year in the same defensive front at South Carolina. On tape: 9 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Ole Miss, Week 6, 2024.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
51 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 7 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.
On3 Oct 24
247Sports Oct 20Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | South Carolina | 51 | 29 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 1 |
| 2023 | South Carolina | 43 | 28 | 9.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| 2022 | South Carolina | 12 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2021 | South Carolina | -- | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 106 | 62 | 17.5 | 9.5 | 6 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 23-19vs Old Dominion | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 31-6@ Kentucky | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 33-36vs No. 16 LSU | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 50-7vs Akron | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 3-27vs No. 12 Ole Miss | 9 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 25-27@ No. 7 Alabama | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 35-9@ Oklahoma | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 44-20vs No. 10 Texas A&M | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 28-7@ No. 24 Vanderbilt | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 34-30vs No. 24 Missouri | 7 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 56-12vs Wofford | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 17-14@ No. 12 Clemson | 7 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
 Bowl | L 17-21vs No. 21 Illinois | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 29 | 7.0 | 4.0 | — | 1 |
Week 12 · 2024
W 34-30
vs Missouri
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 7 tackles
Edged out Missouri at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
14%7 TFLSack rate
8%4 sacksHurry rate
12%6 hurries51 tackles · 7 for loss · 4 sacks.
4 seasons under Shane Beamer — 29-22 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Shane Beamer
Pass share
38.8%
341 pass / 537 run
Plays / game
67.5
13 games
Team sack rate
8.9%
392 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2024
51 tackles in 13 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #7 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at South Carolina, 106 tackles — drafted at #41 overall by the Buffalo Bills.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under Shane Beamer.
Next stop · NFL
Buffalo BillsEntering 2nd NFL season
Buffalo BillsEntering 2nd NFL season
