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Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 3 | 1078th / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 3 | 519th / 2112 |
| Run stops | 4 | 1914th / 3422 |
| Sacks | 2 | — |
| Pass breakups | 0 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 8 | — |
Charting
Where Groves's plays went: throw and catch spots, air yards and yards after the catch, read from the play-by-play
The play-by-play names the defender on breakups, interceptions and tackles, but not the man in coverage on every throw, so true times-targeted isn't in the text. Coverage plays is the closest stand-in; exact targets come from hand charting.
Game Log
Elijah Groves's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 | @ Troy | L 21–24 | 7.3 | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2 |  Tulsa | L 17–23 | 6.3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 3 |  Nicholls | W 59–0 | 5.9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 | @ Texas Tech | L 14–49 | 4.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 | @ Liberty | L 3–35 | 2.7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 7 |  Western Kentucky | L 3–16 | 6.6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | · | · |
| 8 |  New Mexico State | L 24–30 | 4.8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 9 | @ Missouri State | L 3–24 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 2026 · 7 games | 5.4 | 13 | 6 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 5 | 0 | · | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 13 | 1968th / 5664 |
| Solo | 6 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 3.5 | 470th / 2634 |
| Sacks | 2.5 | 229th / 1383 |
| QB hurries | 5 | 71st / 1549 |
| Passes defended | 0 | — |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
Snaps by Game
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Penalties | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Troy | 66 | ~24 (2–44) | 2 | 1 | 36% |
| Wk 2 · Tulsa | 73 | ~· | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| Wk 3 · Nicholls | 58 | ~29 (3–53) | 3 | · | 50% |
| Wk 4 · Texas Tech | 65 | ~14 (0–65) | 1 | · | 22% |
| Wk 6 · Liberty | 52 | ~12 (0–52) | 1 | · | 23% |
| Wk 7 · Western Kentucky | 74 | ~37 (4–67) | 3 | · | 50% |
| Wk 8 · New Mexico State | 71 | ~11 (0–63) | 1 | · | 15% |
| Season | 518 | 127 (59–173) | 12 | 2 | 25% |
Position Room
12 LBs on the Sam Houston roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Dean Ford | LB | JR | 48 | 4.5 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 33 | Brian Bates Jr. | LB | SR | 36 | 6 | 1 | — | 0 |
| 23 | Mike King Jr. | LB | JR | 15 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 |
| 26 | Tokyo Gordon | LB | SR | 15 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 12 | Elijah Groves | LB | JR | 13 | 3.5 | 2.5 | — | 0 |
| 18 | Stacy Bey | LB | SO | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 42 | Ca'lub Holloway | LB | SR | 3 | 2.5 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 45 | Eli Wallace | LB | SR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Cole Worthington | LB | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 32 | Kade Houston | LB | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Ryan Mallory | LB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 44 | Ray Chatham | LB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Sam Houston depth chart →