Last confirmed: Northern Illinois, 2017. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′3″ · 248 lb · LaGrange, GA
Joe Sanders: DE · Northern Illinois · #9.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Joe Sanders
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. He has spent two seasons in the Northern Illinois defensive front. A game that shows it: 5 tackles against Western Michigan — Week 12, 2017.
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
20 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1.5 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.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Northern Illinois | 20 | 11 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 3 |
| 2016 | Northern Illinois | 16 | 11 | 3.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 36 | 22 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 20-23vs Boston College | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-10vs Eastern Illinois | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 21-17@ Nebraska | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 28-34@ No. 19 San Diego State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 24-3vs Kent State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 14-13@ Buffalo | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 30-27vs Eastern Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 63-17vs Ball State | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 35-31vs Western Michigan | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 13 | L 24-31@ Central Michigan | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 14-36vs Duke | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 11 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 3 |
Week 11 · 2017
W 63-17
vs Ball State
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 3 tackles
Dominant 46-point win at home against Ball State.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
5%1 sackTFL rate
8%2 TFL20 tackles · 1.5 for loss · 1 sack.
2 seasons under Rod Carey — 13-12 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 2.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rod Carey
Pass share
42.7%
405 pass / 543 run
Plays / game
72.9
13 games
Team sack rate
5.7%
439 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2017
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Two seasons at Northern Illinois, 1 sacks — his college career is complete.
