Troy Hairston: DL · Central Michigan · #13.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Troy Hairston
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Played for two head coaches at Central Michigan: John Bonamego and Jim McElwain. All-MAC in 2021 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. A game that shows it: 7 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against Eastern Michigan — Week 13, 2021.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
50 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 13.5 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 this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Central Michigan | 54 | 29 | 16.0 | 8.0 |
| 2020 | Central Michigan | 42 | 23 | 9.5 | 5.5 |
| 2019 | Central Michigan | 28 | 15 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| 2018 | Central Michigan | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 129 | 71 | 30.5 | 15.5 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 24-34@ Missouri | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 45-0vs Robert Morris | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 21-49@ LSU | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-27vs Florida International | 5 | 3 | 3.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 5 | L 17-28@ Miami (OH) | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 30-27@ Ohio | 3 | 0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 26-23vs Toledo | 5 | 1 | 2.0 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 38-39vs Northern Illinois | 7 | 3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 10 | W 42-30@ Western Michigan | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 54-30vs Kent State | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 37-17@ Ball State | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 31-10vs Eastern Michigan | 7 | 3 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Total | 50 | 26 | 13.5 | 6.5 | — | 0 |
Week 7 · 2021
W 26-23
vs Toledo
1.5 sacks · 2 tackles for loss · 5 tackles
A close one, won by 3 at home.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
30%16 TFLSack rate
15%8 sacksHurry rate
11%6 hurries54 tackles · 16 for loss · 8 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.0 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 5.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jim McElwain
Pass share
46.5%
445 pass / 511 run
Plays / game
79.7
12 games
Team sack rate
5.3%
474 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Four seasons at Central Michigan, 16 sacks, a first-team All-Conference season (2021) — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 34 games over four seasons.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 1ST TEAM
All-MAC 1st team (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: John Bonamego → Jim McElwain. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
