“Flash backs of Ruffin / Riley era”
Zach Ruffin
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Arrived at Memphis from Southern Miss. One game to point at: 13 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against UNLV — Week 1, 2026.
42 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
42 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 4 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Memphis | 42 | 31 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | Southern Miss | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 46 | 32 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 tackle.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 27-21@ UNLV | 13 | 9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 1 | W 42-24vs Arkansas State | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 20-38@ Boise State | 6 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-21vs UT Martin | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 59-8@ Charlotte | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-13vs UAB | 7 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 17-31@ Tulane | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 41-34vs East Carolina | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 49-22vs Army | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 31 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 |
Oct. 31 · W 49-22 vs Army, play by play
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 4 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 9 games with play by play.
How Memphis’s defense played that day
Army’s 11 drives: 8 stopped (2 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 5.
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 6-yard loss. Fourth quarter, up 31-13.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle, including 1 pass broken up.
6 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 interception. His interception ended Arkansas State’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted. Third quarter, up 28-17. Ended Arkansas State’s drive (int).
Week 1 · 2026
W 27-21
at UNLV
0.5 tackles for loss · 13 tackles · 1 pass breakup
A close one, won by 6 on the road.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +11 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
42tackles this seasonTFL rate
10%4 TFLSack rate
2%1 sackPD rate
10%4 pass breakups42 tackles · 4 for loss · 1 sack · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Road4g | 5.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Charles Huff
Pass share
42.1%
268 pass / 368 run
Plays / game
70.7
9 games
Team sack rate
5.4%
299 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Surprisingly productive for a linebacker with no award recognition yet — top-3% passes broken up, top-2% solo-tackle rate.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #81 at the position.
The No. 1,062 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the American Athletic.
2026 is in progress.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Memphis
