Zion Puckett: S · Auburn · #10.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Zion Puckett
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. The five seasons at Auburn span five head coaches: Gus Malzahn, Kevin Steele, Bryan Harsin, Cadillac Williams and Hugh Freeze. One game to point at: 5 tackles against LSU — Week 7, 2023.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
37 tackles. 2 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 2 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.
Yahoo Sports Oct 26
USA Today Oct 18
On3 Oct 17Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-14vs Massachusetts | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 14-10@ California | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-13vs Samford | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-27@ Texas A&M | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 20-27vs No. 1 Georgia | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 18-48@ No. 22 LSU | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 21-28vs No. 13 Ole Miss | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 27-13vs Mississippi State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-15@ Vanderbilt | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 48-10@ Arkansas | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 10-31vs New Mexico State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 24-27vs No. 8 Alabama | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 13-31vs Maryland | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 27 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
37tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%2 TFL37 tackles · 2 for loss · 2 pass breakups · 2 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 3.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Hugh Freeze
Pass share
38.8%
317 pass / 501 run
Plays / game
62.9
13 games
Team sack rate
9.3%
356 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #302 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Auburn, 149 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
4 coachesPlayed under 4 different head coaches: Gus Malzahn, Bryan Harsin, Cadillac Williams, and Hugh Freeze. Multi-era developmental context.
