Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 27-24@ Florida State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#55
William Spencer
Junior defensive lineman on SMU's 2026 roster.
6′4″ · 316 lb · New Albany, IN
Returning to SMU for 2026
The numbers
0
sacks · 2026
1 tackles
1 game into 2026 so far -- Best game: 1 tackles, at Florida State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 defensive lineman on SMU's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Louisville in 2023.
William Spencer
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move. Across three seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Jeff Brohm and Rhett Lashlee. The receipt on tape: 1 tackles against Florida State, Week 1, 2026.
1 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with Louisville3-star out of New Albany
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Played his entire career under Rhett Lashlee.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024Louisville9-4HC: Jeff Brohm · Balanced
2025SMU9-4HC: Rhett Lashlee · Balanced
2026SMU2-0HC: Rhett Lashlee · Pass-leaning, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 1.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rhett Lashlee
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | SMU | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | SMU | 11 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Louisville | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 16 | 6 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 27–24
1 TOT
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 on the road.
With K. Jennings — 430 yds · 3 TD · 2 INT · QBR 95.6 · 33 rush yds (5 car) · D. Green — 43 rush yds (13 car)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
SMU
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · SMU
Returning around him
- 1 SMU player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -11 net (15 in / 26 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
SMU · Last season: 9-4 (AP #25) · Talent rank #31 · 2026 recruiting class #32
DNA match
Player DNA
Nose Anchor
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
IDL
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Marquis Gracial’s 2024 season.
86%match
Matches Marquis on
Hurry rate
Height
Class year
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Xzavier Mcleod's sophomore season at Georgia (2024).
Matches Xzavier on
Class year
Height
Hurry rate
Player DNA
Players who play like William Spencer
The defensive line · SMU
- #16Marques White10.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #5Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder3.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #97Christian Davis3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #9Ira Singleton3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #55William Spencer2 tackles for loss · 2025
14 more on the roster · SMU team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology