Thomas Rush: DL · Minnesota · #8.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Thomas Rush
Wins the gap play after play. Fifth year in the Minnesota defensive front. On tape: 5 tackles against Iowa, Week 12, 2022.
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
31 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1.5 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.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-0vs New Mexico State | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 62-10vs Western Illinois | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 49-7vs Colorado | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 34-7@ Michigan State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 10-20vs Purdue | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 14-26@ No. 24 Illinois | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 17-45@ No. 16 Penn State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-0vs Rutgers | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 20-13@ Nebraska | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 31-3vs Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 10-13vs Iowa | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 23-16@ Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 31 | 18 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 2 |
Week 1 · 2022
W 38-0
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 3 tackles
Dominant 38-point win at home against New Mexico State.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
5%2 TFLSack rate
5%2 sacksHurry rate
3%1 hurry31 tackles · 1.5 for loss · 1.5 sacks.
5 seasons under P.J. Fleck — 39-20 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 2.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
P.J. Fleck
Pass share
32.7%
279 pass / 574 run
Plays / game
65.6
13 games
Team sack rate
5.4%
295 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2022
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #69 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Minnesota, 8 sacks — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2018–2022
1 coachPlayed every college season under P.J. Fleck.
