Last confirmed: Charlotte, 2019. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′4″ · 242 lb · Wilmington, NC
Alex Highsmith: DE · Charlotte · #5.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Alex Highsmith
Wins the corner before the tackle can set. Alex Highsmith has been at Charlotte through two head coaches in four seasons. One game to point at: 7 tackles against Buffalo — Bowl, 2019.
Play style
Bends the edge and wins with first-step quickness. Lighter frame, relentless motor.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
63 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 16.5 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 him by name this season.
NC Football News Oct 17Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2019 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 49-28vs Gardner-Webb | 7 | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 2 | L 41-56@ App State | 4 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 2 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 3 | W 52-17vs Massachusetts | 5 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-52@ No. 1 Clemson | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 27-45vs Florida Atlantic | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 23-48@ Florida International | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 14-30@ Western Kentucky | 6 | 4 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 9 | W 39-38vs North Texas | 9 | 5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 10 | W 34-20vs Middle Tennessee | 5 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 28-21@ UTEP | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 24-13vs Marshall | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 9-31vs Buffalo | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 63 | 37 | 16.5 | 10.5 | — | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
17%10 sacksTFL rate
26%16 TFLHurry rate
11%7 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
60%10 of 18 pressures63 tackles · 16.5 for loss · 10.5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2019 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.7 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 4.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 5.8 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Will Healy
Pass share
38.1%
319 pass / 519 run
Plays / game
64.5
13 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
363 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2019
63 tackles in 12 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Charlotte, 16 sacks — drafted at #102 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
His career
He has a stat line in 43 games over 4 seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2016–2019
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Brad Lambert → Will Healy. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where he ended up · NFL
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 7th NFL season
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 7th NFL season
