← the board · drewhoover.com · 2024–2026
North Carolina's best defenders since 2024
Khmori House leads with 78 tackles in 12 games at North Carolina; Leroy Jackson had 74.
Every defender with 5 or more games at North Carolina since 2024, ranked by tackles; the lines are each player's tackles game by game, the top 8 drawn. A link opens the player's page, where he has one, or his row on the board.
71 defenders with 5+ games at North Carolinatackles
| # | player | seasons | games | tackles | sacks | tackles for loss | interceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khmori House | 2025 | 12 | 78 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Leroy Jackson | 2024–2026 | 19 | 74 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Jakeen Harris | 2024 | 11 | 67 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Greg Smith III | 2025–2026 | 17 | 63 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Jaiden Patterson | 2024–2026 | 20 | 62 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | Andrew Simpson | 2025 | 12 | 61 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| 7 | Derek McDonald | 2026 | 6 | 55 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Melkart Abou Jaoude | 2025–2026 | 16 | 54 | 11.5 | 14 | 0 |
| 9 | Isaiah Johnson | 2025–2026 | 16 | 53 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 10 | Peyton Seelmann | 2026 | 6 | 53 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | CJ Mims | 2025 | 12 | 42 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | D'Antre Robinson | 2025 | 12 | 39 | 0.5 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | Gavin Gibson | 2025 | 11 | 39 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | Mikai Gbayor | 2025 | 10 | 39 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | Xavier Lewis | 2025–2026 | 10 | 39 | 7.5 | 12 | 0 |
| 16 | Jonathan Agumadu | 2025–2026 | 9 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Coleman Bryson | 2025–2026 | 14 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Peyton Waters | 2025–2026 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Timir Hickman-Collins | 2025–2026 | 10 | 24 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Michael Short | 2024 | 9 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Smith Vilbert | 2025 | 12 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 22 | Joshua Harris | 2024 | 7 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Thaddeus Dixon | 2025 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Jaylen Harvey | 2026 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 25 | Caleb LaVallee | 2024 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Kenton Dopson III | 2026 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | Javion Butts | 2025–2026 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Malcolm Ziglar | 2024–2025 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | Jalon Thompson | 2025–2026 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Nicco Maggio | 2025–2026 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | Donovan Hoilette Jr. | 2026 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | Joseph Mupoyi | 2025 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | Trey Giddens | 2025–2026 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Will Hardy | 2022–2025 | 33 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 35 | Marcus Allen | 2023–2025 | 31 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 36 | Kaleb Cost | 2023–2026 | 29 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 37 | Power Echols | 2021–2024 | 24 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 38 | Kevin Hester Jr. | 2020–2024 | 23 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 39 | Alijah Huzzie | 2023–2024 | 20 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 40 | Antavious Lane | 2023–2024 | 20 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 41 | Desmond Evans | 2020–2024 | 20 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 42 | Jahvaree Ritzie | 2021–2024 | 20 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 43 | Beau Atkinson | 2023–2024 | 19 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 44 | Kaimon Rucker | 2021–2024 | 18 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 45 | Amare Campbell | 2023–2024 | 17 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 46 | Cedric Gray | 2021–2023 | 17 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 47 | Don Chapman | 2019–2023 | 16 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 48 | M.J. Stewart | 2014–2017 | 16 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 49 | Tre Miller | 2023–2026 | 16 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 50 | Travis Shaw | 2023–2024 | 15 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 51 | Tyler Thompson | 2023–2025 | 15 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 52 | Giovanni Biggers | 2020–2023 | 12 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 53 | Jacolbe Cowan | 2023–2024 | 10 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 54 | Tomari Fox | 2019–2023 | 10 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 55 | Armani Chatman | 2023 | 9 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 56 | Cam'Ron Kelly | 2019–2022 | 9 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 57 | Myles Dorn | 2016–2019 | 9 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 58 | Myles Murphy | 2021–2023 | 9 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 59 | Tim Scott | 2011–2014 | 9 | — | — | — | 8 |
| 60 | Amari Gainer | 2023 | 8 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 61 | Tomon Fox | 2016–2021 | 8 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 62 | DeAndre Boykins | 2021–2024 | 7 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 63 | Dominquie Green | 2013–2016 | 7 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 64 | Ja'Qurious Conley | 2021 | 7 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 65 | Storm Duck | 2019–2022 | 7 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 66 | Jeremiah Gemmel | 2019–2021 | 6 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 67 | Johnathon Sutton | 2017–2018 | 6 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 68 | Tayon Holloway | 2023 | 6 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 69 | Brian Walker | 2013–2014 | 5 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 70 | Jaybron Harvey | 2023–2024 | 5 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 71 | Trey Morrison | 2019–2021 | 5 | — | — | — | 2 |
Also at North Carolina: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers, punters. Every school and conference: schools, conferences. The games are ESPN's box scores since 2004 (the Method says where they fall short); a position is the roster's, else read off the box score, so a tight end from before 2014 may be listed with the wide receivers.