Senior defensive lineman for Northwestern. 2022: 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 6 tackles.
6′4″ · 280 lb · Axis, AL
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
SDE recruit
No. 224 nationally · Signed with Stanford
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman for Northwestern. 2022: 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 6 tackles.
Ryan Johnson
Wins his gap play after play. Across five seasons and two programs, two head coaches: David Shaw and Pat Fitzgerald. One game to point at: 2 tackles against Penn State — Week 5, 2022.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at Northwestern, 2 sacks — his college career is complete.
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2018–2022
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Pat Fitzgerald.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th 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
2022 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Road1g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
David Braun
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 1 game in so far.
Player standing · 2021
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Former four-star. Now #186 at the position.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Northwestern | 6 | 6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Stanford | 15 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2020 | Stanford | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Stanford | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2018 | Stanford | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 29 | 15 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2022
W 31–28
vs Nebraska
1 TOT · 1 SACKS · 1 SOLO
Edged out Nebraska at home in a shootout.
With R. Hilinski — 314 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 85.7 · 3 rush yds (2 car) · L. Akers — 40 AVG · 4 IN 20 · 49 LONG
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 6 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-28vs Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 23-31vs Duke | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 24-31vs Southern Illinois | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 14-17vs Miami (OH) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-17@ Penn State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 7-42vs Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 3 |
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2021 production profile sits closest to Jeramy Passmore’s 2021 season.
Matches Jeramy on
Differs from Jeramy on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Bo Maile's senior season at Utah State (2023).
Matches Bo on
Player DNA