Sophomore linebacker for Memphis. 2026: 25 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss.
6′4″ · 199 lb · Philadelphia, MS · Neshoba Central HS
How he plays
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage.
Solo tackles: 99th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
tackles · 2026 · through week 3
Best game: 13 tackles, 0.5 TFL, at UNLV
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Sophomore linebacker for Memphis. 2026: 25 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss.
Zach Ruffin
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Zach Ruffin arrived at Memphis from Southern Miss. One game to point at: 13 tackles, 0.5 TFL against UNLV — Week 1, 2026.
25 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Ryan Silverfield → Charles Huff. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Memphis
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Memphis | 25 | 19 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | Southern Miss | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 29 | 20 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 4 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 27-21@ UNLV | 13 | 9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 1 | W 42-24vs Arkansas State | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 20-38@ Boise State | 6 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-21vs UT Martin | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 25 | 19 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 45–21
vs UT Martin
1 tackles · 1 pass breakups
Dominant 24-point win at home against UT Martin.
With M. Stokes — 258 yds · 4 TD · 0 INT · QBR 80.4 · 2 rush yds (3 car) · J. Thompson — 110 rush yds (6 car) · 1 TD
Since week 2: +1 tackle, +1 pass breakup.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: solo tackles (99th percentile). Strength: passes defended (97th 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.
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
25tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%2 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
12%3 pass breakups25 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road2g | 9.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 6.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Charles Huff
Pass share
40.7%
101 pass / 147 run
Plays / game
62.0
4 games
Team sack rate
4.4%
114 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
CFB Index positional classification
The No. 1,062 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the American Athletic as a sophomore.
Player DNA
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Nathan Ricketts’s 2016 season.
Matches Nathan on
Differs from Nathan on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Javon Batten's sophomore season at Massachusetts (2022).
Matches Javon on
Differs from Javon on
9 more on the roster · Memphis team page