Zavier Hamilton
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Played for three head coaches at South Florida: Alex Golesh, Kevin Patrick and Brian Hartline. On tape: 11 tackles against Bowling Green, Week 4, 2026.
40 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
40 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 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 | South Florida | 40 | 21 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 2025 | South Florida | 37 | 14 | 3.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2024 | South Florida | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 78 | 36 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 2 |
Last game (Wk 9): 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 19-9vs Florida International | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-24@ Army | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 59-17vs Delaware State | 6 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 14-6@ Bowling Green | 11 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 13-17vs Temple | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-31@ UTSA | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 29-2vs Kent State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 30-10vs UAB | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 40 | 21 | 4.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 30-10 vs UAB, play by play
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
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 8 games with play by play.
How South Florida’s defense played that day
UAB’s 9 drives: 7 stopped · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 2 of 4. His pbu came with South Florida down 7.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
11 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles, including 2 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
5 tackles, including 1 sack.
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 on 3rd and 9. Fourth quarter, down 24-21.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
Ratings of the games shown run from -21 to +4 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
40tackles this seasonTFL rate
10%4 TFLSack rate
2%1 sackPD rate
5%2 pass breakups40 tackles · 4 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 6.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brian Hartline
Pass share
42.1%
195 pass / 268 run
Plays / game
57.9
8 games
Team sack rate
7.3%
220 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #255 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-AAC
Based on 2025: #56 of 61 American Athletic LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Alex Golesh → Brian Hartline. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
CBS Sports College Football
