Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 7 | 98th / 2577 |
| Tackles for loss | 4 | 213th / 1914 |
| Run stops | 17 | 155th / 3269 |
| Sacks | 1 | — |
| Pass breakups | 3 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 37 | — |
Charting
Where Ruffin'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.
Career
2 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 |  Memphis#60 · 6-2 | 8 | 72% | 41 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 2025 |  Southern Miss#102 · 7-6 | 4 | 2% | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Zach Ruffin's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Game Log
Zach Ruffin'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 | @ UNLV | W 27–21 | 8.7 | 13 | 9 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 1 |  Arkansas State | W 42–24 | 8.8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | · |
| 2 | @ Boise State | L 20–38 | 7.4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | · | · |
| 3 |  UT Martin | W 45–21 | 5.7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 5 | @ Charlotte | W 59–8 | 4.8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 |  UAB | W 38–13 | 8.4 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 7 | @ Tulane | L 17–31 | 5.3 | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 8 |  East Carolina | W 41–34 | 6.6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2026 · 8 games | 7.0 | 41 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 41 | 187th / 5416 |
| Solo | 30 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 4 | 245th / 2453 |
| Sacks | 1 | 491st / 1213 |
| QB hurries | 2 | 305th / 1387 |
| Passes defended | 4 | 83rd / 1595 |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
| Interceptions | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Interceptions | 1 | 111th / 531 |
| Return yards | 0 | — |
| Pick-sixes | 0 | — |
Snaps by Game
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 | Penalties | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · UNLV | ✓ LB | 78 | ~78 (40–78) | 14 | · | 100% |
| Wk 1 · Arkansas State | ✓ LB | 59 | ~53 (27–59) | 5 | · | 90% |
| Wk 2 · Boise State | ✓ LB | 75 | ~71 (36–75) | 7 | · | 95% |
| Wk 3 · UT Martin | ✓ LB | 57 | ~11 (0–57) | 1 | · | 19% |
| Wk 5 · Charlotte | — | 40 | ~22 (2–40) | 2 | 1 | 55% |
| Wk 6 · UAB | ✓ LB | 70 | ~53 (27–62) | 5 | · | 76% |
| Wk 7 · Tulane | ✓ LB | 60 | ~19 (2–34) | 2 | · | 32% |
| Wk 8 · East Carolina | ✓ LB | 78 | ~63 (32–74) | 5 | · | 81% |
| Season | 7 GS | 517 | 370 (310–444) | 41 | 1 | 72% |
Position Room
14 LBs on the Memphis roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Mike Montgomery | LB | SR | 57 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 2 |
| 22 | Zach Ruffin | LB | SO | 41 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 25 | JJ Clayton | LB | SO | 17 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 34 | Kadan Spratling | LB | FR | 13 | 4.5 | 2 | — | 1 |
| 40 | Trey McDonald | LB | SR | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 41 | Tylon Nash | LB | SR | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Wolf Walker | LB | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 16 | Jah'Keevi Garnett | LB | JR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 33 | Donovan Mathena | LB | SR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 23 | Jayden Parrish | LB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Jacory Johnson | LB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Desmond Cox | LB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Christian Thatcher | LB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 46 | Elijah Fernandez | LB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
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. Memphis depth chart →