Cale Sanders
Cale Sanders
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Three head coaches in four seasons, at two different programs. The receipt on tape: 6 tackles against Pittsburgh, Week 10, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
How it ended
Four seasons at SMU, 125 tackles — his college career is complete.
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Jim Leavitt → Rhett Lashlee. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rhett Lashlee
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR05 · Part-time starter
Part-time starter. Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | SMU | 45 | 22 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | SMU | 29 | 21 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | Fresno State | 31 | 26 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Fresno State | 20 | 18 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 125 | 87 | 12.0 | 1.0 | 16 | 2 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 6 · 2024
W 34–27
at Louisville
5 TOT · 3 SOLO · 1 TFL
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 on the road.
How he plays
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Box Safety
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Alaka'i Gilman’s 2024 season.
Matches Alaka'i on
Differs from Alaka'i on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Wrook Brown's senior season at Houston (2025).
Matches Wrook on