Senior defensive back on North Carolina's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 195 lb · Atlanta, GA · Sandy Creek
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
CB recruit
No. 769 nationally · Signed with North Carolina
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior defensive back on North Carolina's 2026 roster.
Kaleb Cost
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Kaleb Cost has played for three head coaches in four seasons at North Carolina. The receipt on tape: 7 tackles against Clemson, Week 3, 2026.
13 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Mack Brown, Freddie Kitchens, and Bill Belichick. Multi-era developmental context.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | North Carolina | 13 | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | North Carolina | 45 | 33 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | North Carolina | 61 | 43 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 4 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | North Carolina | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Career | 124 | 88 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 11 | 3 | 1 |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 15-10@ TCU | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-3vs East Tennessee State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 20-28@ Clemson | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Total | 13 | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 15–10
at TCU
4 tackles · 4 solo tackles
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 5 on the road.
With B. Edwards — 232 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 77.2 · -4 rush yds (7 car) · A. Burrell — 41.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20
Since week 2: +7 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles for loss (16th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bill Belichick
Pass share
46.9%
84 pass / 95 run
Plays / game
59.7
3 games
Team sack rate
6.5%
92 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Three-star recruit. Now #175 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #37 of 75 ACC DBs
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jordan Anderson’s 2022 season.
Matches Jordan on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Jayden Sweeney's junior season at Florida Atlantic (2025).
Matches Jayden on
Player DNA
2025 Junior Season Appeared in 11 of the team’s 12 games, missing one due to injury Started eight games at nickel Ended the season with 45 tackles, including 33 solo stops Also had two tackles for loss Tallied an interception in the season opener against TCU Logged five pass breakups Turned in…
16 more on the roster · North Carolina team page