Austin Booker: DL · Kansas · #9.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Austin Booker
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Played for two head coaches at two programs in two seasons: P.J. Fleck and Lance Leipold. First career honor, 2023: Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year. A game that shows it: 9 tackles against Oklahoma State — Week 7, 2023.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
55 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 12 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.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 10 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 34-23vs Illinois | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 4 | W 38-27vs BYU | 7 | 6 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 5 | L 14-40@ No. 3 Texas | 7 | 5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 51-22vs UCF | 4 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 32-39@ Oklahoma State | 9 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 38-33vs No. 6 Oklahoma | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 28-21@ Iowa State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 13-16vs Texas Tech | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 27-31vs No. 23 Kansas State | 6 | 6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 49-16@ Cincinnati | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 55 | 39 | 12.0 | 8.0 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
22%12 TFLSack rate
15%8 sacksHurry rate
0%0 hurries55 tackles · 12 for loss · 8 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 6.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 6.0 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 5.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lance Leipold
Pass share
39.0%
311 pass / 487 run
Plays / game
61.4
13 games
Team sack rate
4.6%
329 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2023
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #94 at the position.
How it ended
Two seasons, at Minnesota and Kansas, 8 sacks, a first-team All-Conference season (2023) — drafted at #144 overall by the Chicago Bears.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG 12 · 1ST TEAM
All-Big 12 1st team (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2021–2023
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: P.J. Fleck and Lance Leipold.
Next stop · NFL
Chicago BearsEntering 3rd NFL season
Chicago BearsEntering 3rd NFL season
