Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 6 | 159th / 2573 |
| Tackles for loss | 0 | — |
| Run stops | 1 | 2643rd / 3263 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| Pass breakups | 6 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 13 | — |
Where Gates's plays went: throw and catch spots, air yards and yards after the catch, read from the play-by-play
The play-by-play names the defender on breakups, interceptions and tackles, but not the man in coverage on every throw, so true times-targeted isn't in the text. Coverage plays is the closest stand-in; exact targets come from hand charting.
4 seasons at 2 schools since 2014 · box-score totals, snap share estimated from play-by-play
| Season | Team | G | Snaps | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD | Havoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far | Kentucky#32 · 6-1 | 5 | 53% | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 2025 | Florida#53 · 4-8 | 3 | 11% | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Florida#24 · 8-5 | 9 | 16% | 27 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 2023 | Florida#55 · 5-7 | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Aaron Gates's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Aaron Gates's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 | W 45–13 | — | no stats recorded | ||||||||
| 2 | L 17–45 | 5.7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | |
| 3 | @ | W 31–21 | 4.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 | W 45–21 | 8.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | · | · | |
| 5 | @ | W 35–34 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 6 | W 35–34 | 6.1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | |
| 7 | @ | W 21–13 | 7.5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | · | · |
| 2026 · 5 games | 6.3 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | · | · | ||
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 14 | 1509th / 5408 |
| Solo | 10 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 1 | 1347th / 2450 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| QB hurries | 1 | 629th / 1380 |
| Passes defended | 6 | 14th / 1589 |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Start | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 · Alabama | ✓ DB | 63 | ~57 (23–60) | 4 | 90% |
| Wk 3 · Texas A&M | — | 84 | ~2 (0–6) | 1 | 2% |
| Wk 4 · South Alabama | ✓ DB | 74 | ~70 (28–74) | 4 | 95% |
| Wk 6 · LSU | ✓ DB | 71 | ~69 (28–71) | 5 | 97% |
| Wk 7 · Oklahoma | — | 72 | ~69 (28–72) | 5 | 96% |
| Season | 3 GS | 504 | 267 (190–304) | 19 | 53% |
21 DBs on the Kentucky roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Jordan Castell | DB | SR | 57 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 14 | Ty Bryant | DB | SR | 53 | 1 | 0.5 | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | Hasaan Sykes | DB | JR | 27 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 |
| 20 | Terhyon Nichols | DB | JR | 24 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 4 |
| 3 | Aaron Gates | DB | SR | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 |
| 27 | Isaiah McMillian | DB | FR | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 |
| 13 | Cyrus Reyes | DB | JR | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 24 | Jaden Smith | DB | SO | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 30 | Grant Grayton | DB | SO | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 28 | Demarcus Gardner | DB | SO | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 21 | Nasir Addison | DB | SR | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Dyllon Williams | DB | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 19 | Kevis Thomas | DB | SR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 0 | Martels Carter Jr. | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Andre Clarke Jr. | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Braxton Urquhart | DB | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Jesse Anderson III | DB | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Mark Manfred III | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Andrew Purcell | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Sam Brown III | S | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| Andrew Weber | DB | — | — | — | — | — |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Kentucky depth chart →