2026 games, tackles for loss per game. W and L: the team’s results.
“What’s crazy is Sammy Brown is like our 3rd best defender these days with how good Hampton and Heldt have been”
5 stories in the last 60 days, from 5 outlets.
Will Heldt
Turns pressure into sacks — pressures become finishes. Played for two head coaches across four seasons and two programs. The first career honor came in 2025: All-ACC. A game that shows it: 5 tackles against Miami — Week 5, 2026.
29 tackles · 7 sacks
Play style
Turns pressure into sacks — gets there and finishes.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
29 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 11 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 5 outlets
Will Heldt sees a different Clemson coming: ‘Not where we’re going to be’
TigerNet Sep 13 · 2 outlets
from 6 outlets
Will Heldt sees a different Clemson coming: ‘Not where we’re going to be’
TigerNet Sep 13 · 2 outlets
TigerNetClemson's 'House Call' features star DE Will HeldtAug 13
Yahoo SportsClemson's Will Heldt Proves Dabo Swinney Isn't Making SenseOct 22Yahoo Sports
On3
Clemson University AthleticsTigerNet
Roundtable
Sports IllustratedEach week: the team’s game, the stories about this player that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
Clemson16 stories2025 to nowMost about: draft stock, profile and feature, awards and watch lists.
TigerNetWill Heldt sees a different Clemson coming: ‘Not where we’re going to be’Sep 13Sports Illustrated +1Why Tom Allen Isn’t Surprised by Will Heldt’s Improvement in 2026Oct 27
Locked OnClemson’s Will Heldt return Boosts Defense, But roster Challenges Loom for 2026Dec 15Locked OnClemson Bets Big on Will Heldt to deliver Elite ProductionApr 7Yahoo Sports2027 Summer Scouting Report: Will Heldt, EDGE, ClemsonJun 12
Purdue2023 to 2024not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 5.
Fans first named Will Heldt at LSU.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 1 sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, 7 tackles.
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 10-51@ No. 11 LSU | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 22-7vs Georgia Southern | 3 | 3 | 3.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 3 | W 28-20vs North Carolina | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 4 | W 24-10@ California | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 13-41vs No. 4 Miami | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 37-0vs Charleston Southern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | L 16-20vs Virginia Tech | 4 | 4 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 9 | W 36-24@ Florida State | 7 | 5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Total | 29 | 21 | 11.0 | 7.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 36-24 at Florida State, play by play
7 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 sack, tied for 8th-most tackles for loss in FBS that week.
Each small tick is a tackle on the play-by-play: 6 of 7, sacks included.
Against this season: the 2nd-most backfield disruption game of 8 this season.
This season: disruption in the backfield — 11 tackles for loss, 7 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Clemson’s defense played that day
Florida State’s 13 drives: 9 stopped (4 takeaways) · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 4 of 6.
4 tackles, including 2 sacks, 1 pass broken up, tied for 5th-most sacks in FBS that week.
Each small tick is a tackle on the play-by-play. Sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 8-yard loss. Third quarter, down 10-6.
1 tackle, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is a tackle on the play-by-play. Sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is a tackle on the play-by-play: 4 of 5, sacks included.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is a tackle on the play-by-play. Sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 2 sacks, tied for 3rd-most sacks in FBS that week.
Each small tick is a tackle on the play-by-play. Sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 6-yard loss on 3rd and 5. Third quarter, down 17-15.
A big game: 3 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 2 sacks, tied for 4th-most sacks in FBS that week. Will Heldt hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is a tackle on the play-by-play. Sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 7-yard loss on 3rd and 8. Second quarter, up 10-0.
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is a tackle on the play-by-play. Sacks are drawn as sacks.
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 -8 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where the impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
24%7 sacksTFL rate
38%11 TFLHurry rate
3%1 hurryPressure-to-sack conversion
88%7 of 8 pressures29 tackles · 11 for loss · 7 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 4.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 5.5 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dabo Swinney
Pass share
45.3%
248 pass / 299 run
Plays / game
68.4
8 games
Team sack rate
8.3%
289 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-ACC
Based on 2025: #4 of 15 ACC DEs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 42 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-ACC
All-ACC mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Ryan Walters and Dabo Swinney.
