Iowa · L 0-30
5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
The other 7 games average 4 tackles. This one was 1 above.
“Cheeks is being tackled. Where have I seen this before????”
5 stories in the last 30 days, from 4 outlets.
Wisconsin's Sebastian Cheeks Is Starting to Get Serious NFL Draft Buzz
Sports Illustrated +1 Oct 27
Sebastian Cheeks
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. Played for two head coaches across five seasons and two programs. On tape: 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against UCLA, Week 7, 2026.
31 tackles · 6 sacks
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
31 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 7 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 4 outlets
Wisconsin's Sebastian Cheeks Is Starting to Get Serious NFL Draft Buzz
Sports Illustrated +1 Oct 27 · 2 outlets
from 4 outlets
Wisconsin's Sebastian Cheeks Is Starting to Get Serious NFL Draft Buzz
Sports Illustrated +1 Oct 27 · 2 outlets
Sports Illustrated +1Wisconsin's Sebastian Cheeks Is Starting to Get Serious NFL Draft BuzzOct 27Sports IllustratedBadgers NFL Draft Stock Watch: Malachi Coleman, Sebastian Cheeks Turn HeadsSep 11Sports IllustratedOLB Sebastian Cheeks Poised to Take On His Biggest Role YetAug 8Sports Illustrated +1Sports IllustratedEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
Wisconsin8 stories2024 to nowMost about: draft stock, profile and feature, in his words.
Sports Illustrated +1Wisconsin's Sebastian Cheeks Is Starting to Get Serious NFL Draft BuzzOct 27Sports IllustratedOLB Sebastian Cheeks Poised to Take On His Biggest Role YetAug 8Sports IllustratedBadgers NFL Draft Stock Watch: Malachi Coleman, Sebastian Cheeks Turn HeadsSep 11Sports IllustratedWisconsin's Sebastian Cheeks Leads NCAA in Key Statistic Through Week 5Oct 6Reported by Sports Illustrated
North Carolina2022 to 2023not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Sebastian Cheeks at Notre Dame.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wisconsin | 31 | 21 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 2 |
| 2025 | Wisconsin | 24 | 17 | 5.5 | 3.0 | -- |
| 2024 | Wisconsin | 12 | 5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | -- |
| 2023 | North Carolina | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2022 | North Carolina | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 71 | 44 | 14.5 | 11.0 | 2 |
Last game (Wk 9): 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-41vs No. 4 Notre Dame | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 36-9vs Western Illinois | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 54-10vs Eastern Michigan | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 24-20@ No. 13 Penn State | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 31-3vs Michigan State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 7-17@ No. 12 UCLA | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 8 | W 24-7vs No. 16 USC | 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 sacks |
| Wk 9 | L 0-30@ Iowa | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 31 | 21 | 7.0 | 6.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · L 0-30 at Iowa, play by play
5 tackles, including 1 sack. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 6-yard loss on 3rd and 10. Second quarter, down 10-0.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 7 tackles for loss, 6 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Wisconsin’s defense played that day
Iowa’s 10 drives: 4 stopped (1 takeaway) · 6 scored.
5 tackles, including 2 sacks, tied for 2nd-most sacks in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 13-yard loss on 3rd and 5. Fourth quarter, up 24-7.
6 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle, including 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 4-yard loss. Fourth quarter, up 24-20.
3 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Broke up a pass. Second quarter, down 13-10. Fans named him again and again right after: the most-talked-about moment of his game.
“Notre Dame does know cheeks.”Wisconsin fan, r/CFB game thread
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
31tackles this seasonTFL rate
23%7 TFLSack rate
19%6 sacksPD rate
6%2 pass breakups31 tackles · 7 for loss · 6 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 5.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 5.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Luke Fickell
Pass share
43.5%
200 pass / 260 run
Plays / game
57.5
8 games
Team sack rate
4.6%
218 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Surprisingly productive for a linebacker with no award recognition yet — top-2% tackles behind the line, top-4% solo-tackle rate.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #18 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #41 of 72 Big Ten LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 27 games over five seasons.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Mack Brown and Luke Fickell.
