A look at current career stats leaders, including a LB who can set an NCAA record
The last part of our statistics series is going to focus on players who have produced big numbers in their careers, numbers that make them current stats leaders nationally. First, though, we’re going to spotlight one player – a 5-foot-9 linebacker who very well could finish his career as the leading tackler in FBS history. Tackles have been an official NCAA stat only since the 2000 season, and Troy’s Carlton Martial seems poised to finish his career with around 550 or so.
Martial, who is listed at 5-9 and 210 pounds, has 443 career tackles since arriving at Troy as a walk-on before the 2017 season. He redshirted as a true freshman, then has started in each of the past four seasons, averaging 111 stops a season. Another 111 tackles this season would give him 554 for his career; the current record is 545 by Northwestern’s Tim McGarigle (2002-05).
In a nice bit of serendipity, Troy’s new coach is Jon Sumrall. He spent the past three seasons as Kentucky’s inside linebacker coach but was Troy’s linebacker coach when Martial arrived in 2017. Though Sumrall never has coached Martial (he left after the 2017 season to become an assistant at Ole Miss), he knows all about him. Sumrall told On3 that Martial is “ridiculously instinctive.”
“Regardless of what situation he’s been put in or where he’s been placed, he’s always found a way to be highly productive, highly successful,” Sumrall said.
Sumrall noted that Martial “got overlooked (out of high school in Mobile, Ala.,) maybe because of some stature thing. But all he has done is produce.”
In that sense, Martial is like everyone else on our list, though the others haven’t produced quite like him. Here are the current FBS top 10 current career stats leaders in six categories. (Earlier this week, we stories on teams reaching certain statistical plateaus and on teams who have been lacking in some key stat categories.)
Worth noting: Despite their success, 13 of these players will be at new schools this season after hitting the transfer portal. They are denoted with asterisks.
Most rushing yards
| Player | School | Yards |
| 1. Xazavian Valladay* | Arizona State | 3,281 |
| 2. Travis Dye* | USC | 3,111 |
| 3. Mohamed Ibrahim | Minnesota | 3,003 |
| 4. Chris Rodriguez Jr. | Kentucky | 2,740 |
| 5. Malik Cunningham | Louisville | 2,619 |
| 6. Lew Nichols | Central Michigan | 2,444 |
| 7. David Bailey | Colorado State | 2,352 |
| 8. Adrian Martinez* | Kansas State | 2,301 |
| 9. Andrew Clair | Northwestern | 2,286 |
| 10. Camerun Peoples | Appalachian State | 2,237 |
+ It’s highly doubtful anyone on this list gets anywhere near the all-time top 25 in rushing yards (that would require 4,966 yards). To get into the top 100 requires 4,194.
+ Valladay (from Wyoming), Dye (Oregon) and Martinez (Nebraska) are transfers; Valladay is the No. 2 rusher in Wyoming history, and Dye is fifth in Oregon history.
+ Martinez and Cunningham are quarterbacks.
+ Ibrahim was lost for the year in the opener last season, rushing for 163 yards before being injured in the second half against Ohio State. He is a two-time 1,000-yard rusher who has a chance to become one of the top three rushers in school history; another 1,000-yard season puts him third and 1,123 puts him second.
+ Rodriguez seems a lock to become just the fourth player to rush for 3,000-plus at UK; he is 260 yards shy. He is 1,134 yards away from becoming No. 1 on the school list, and he rushed for 1,379 last season.
+ Nichols is entering his third season and led the nation in rushing last season.
+ Bailey (from Boston College) and Clair (Bowling Green) began their careers elsewhere. Bailey will be a fifth-year senior and in his second season at Colorado State; Clair will be a sixth-year senior and in his second season at Northwestern.
Most receptions
| Player | School | Receptions |
| 1. Victor Tucker | Charlotte | 187 |
| 2. Billy Kemp IV | Virginia | 176 |
| 3. Jadan Blue* | Virginia Tech | 169 |
| 4. Zakhari Franklin | UTSA | 168 |
| 5. Hassan Beydoun | Eastern Michigan | 167 |
| 6. Keylon Stokes | Tulsa | 166 |
| 7. Jordan Addison | Pitt | 160 |
| 8. Smoke Harris | Louisiana Tech | 159 |
| 9. Thayer Thomas | NC State | 158 |
| 10. Taj Harris* | Rutgers | 151 |
+ It’s highly doubtful anyone on this list gets anywhere near the all-time top 20 in receptions yards (that would require 295 catches). To get into the top 25 all-time requires 292. The top 30 requires 289 and the top 50 requires 264.
+ Blue (from Temple) and Harris (Syracuse) are transfers. Blue has the only 1,000-yard receiving season in Temple history (1,067 in 2019), and Harris has the fourth-most catches in Syracuse history.
+ Tucker is second in school history in receptions (Charlotte re-started its program in 2013), but he’s unlikely to finish No. 1. He needs 67 receptions but doesn’t figure to be the 49ers’ go-to receiver this season.
+ Kemp had 75 receptions last season, and 75 receptions this season would make him the leading receiver in school history by one catch.
+ Addison has played in just 24 games. While he (and other Pitt receivers) will miss quarterback Kenny Pickett, he still figures to move into second place on the school’s career list this season. He needs 43 receptions to become No. 2 and 95 to surpass Tyler Boyd as No. 1.
Most passing yards
| Player | School | Yards |
| 1. Jarret Doege* | Western Kentucky | 10,494 |
| 2. Holton Ahlers | East Carolina | 10,225 |
| 3. Charlie Brewer* | Liberty | 10,184 |
| 4. Sam Hartman | Wake Forest | 9,266 |
| 5. Adrian Martinez* | Kansas State | 8,491 |
| 6. Malik Cunningham | Louisville | 8,095 |
| 7. Dillon Gabriel* | Oklahoma | 8,037 |
| 8. Clayton Tune | Houston | 7,922 |
| 9. Sean Clifford | Penn State | 7,839 |
| 10. Chris Reynolds | Charlotte | 7,726 |
+ To get into the top 10 all-time requires 14,080 yards. The top 15 requires 13,478 and the top 20 requires 12,895.
+ Doege (from Bowling Green and West Virginia), Brewer (Baylor and Utah), Martinez (Nebraska) and Gabriel (UCF) are transfers.
+ Ahlers (needs 1,773 yards to pass Shane Carden), Hartman (needs 497 to pass Riley Skinner) and Clifford (needs 2,061 to pass Trace McSorley) figure to become the leading passers in their school’s history this season. Hartman could do it (should do it?) in Game 2. Reynolds already is Charlotte’s career leader.
Most TD passes
| Player | School | TD passes |
| 1. Jarret Doege* | Western Kentucky | 79 |
| 2. Sam Hartman | Wake Forest | 72 |
| 3. Dillon Gabriel* | Oklahoma | 70 |
| 4. Holton Ahlers | East Carolina | 69 |
| 5. Charlie Brewer* | Liberty | 68 |
| 6. Logan Bonner | Utah State | 66 |
| 7. Layne Hatcher* | Texas State | 65 |
| 8. Clayton Tune | Houston | 64 |
| 9-T. Sean Clifford | Penn State | 62 |
| 9-T. Malik Cunningham | Louisville | 62 |
| 9-T. Chris Reynolds | Charlotte | 62 |
+ To get into the top 10 all-time requires 120 TD passes. The top 15 requires 114 and the top 20 requires 107.
+ Doege (from Bowling Green and West Virginia), Gabriel (UCF), Brewer (Baylor and Utah) and Hatcher (Arkansas State) are transfers. This will be Bonner’s second season at Utah State after also transferring from Arkansas State.
+ Hartman and Reynolds are the career leader in TD passes at their schools. Ahlers (needs 18), Clifford (16) and Cunningham (23) have a shot to become No. 1 this season. Tune, meanwhile, needs 22 to move into third and 28 to move into second on Houston’s career list; he isn’t catching No. 1 Case Keenum – he would need 91 to do so.
Most tackles
| Player | School | Total tackles |
| 1. LB Carlton Martial | Troy | 443 |
| 2. LB Bumper Pool | Arkansas | 349 |
| 3. LB Kyle Harmon | San Jose State | 341 |
| 4. LB James Patterson | Buffalo | 295 |
| 5. S Khoury Bethley* | Arizona State | 293 |
| 6. LB KD Davis | North Texas | 289 |
| 7. S Devonni Reed* | South Carolina | 286 |
| 8. LB Darius Muasau* | UCLA | 274 |
| 9. LB Jacquez Jones | Kentucky | 268 |
| 10-T. S Sydney Brown | Illinois | 260 |
| 10-T. LB Henry To’oTo’o | Alabama | 260 |
| 10-T. LB Josh Chandler-Semedo* | To be decided | 260 |
+ We discussed Martial above. None of the others have a shot at the top 10. Getting into the top 20 all-time requires 447.
+ Bethley and Muasau are transfers from Hawaii; Reed is a Central Michigan transfer.
+ Jones and To’oTo’o are heading into the second season at their schools after transferring from Ole Miss and Tennessee, respectively.
+ For those wondering – and even those who weren’t – “Bumper” is Pool’s real first name. He was born James Pool, then legally changed his name when he was 16.
+ Chandler-Semedo led West Virginia – and was third in the Big 12 last season – with 110 tackles. He is one of the more productive player still available in the transfer portal.
Most sacks
| Player | School | Sacks |
| 1. DE Will McDonald | Iowa State | 29 |
| 2. LB Will Anderson | Alabama | 24.5 |
| 3. DT Dom Peterson | Nevada | 22 |
| 4. DT Dante Stills | West Virginia | 19 |
| 5. DE Cade Hall | San Jose State | 18 |
| 6. DT Karl Brooks | Bowling Green | 17.5 |
| 7. DE Markees Watts | Charlotte | 17.5 |
| 8. DE Juwuan Jones | Western Kentucky | 17.5 |
| 9. DT Thomas Incoom | Central Michigan | 17 |
| 10. LB Andre Carter II | Army | 16.5 |
+ To get into the top five all-time requires 37.5 sacks. The top 10 requires 34.5 and the top 20 requires 32.5.
+ McDonald has led the Big 12 in sacks in each of the past two seasons; he had 11.5 in 2021 and 10.5 in 2020. He is from Pewaukee, Wis. – the same hometown as J.J. and T.J. Watt. And, no, we’re not saying he’s as good as the Watt brothers, just that he is from the same hometown.
+ Anderson is heading into his third (and almost certainly) final college season. His first two seasons were extremely productive; what’s he do for an encore this fall? The NCAA didn’t have sacks as an official stat until 2005, which means Anderson almost certainly will leave Alabama as the Tide’s “official” sacks leader; he needs four for the record. But some enterprising sorts have gone back and determined that Derrick Thomas had 52 sacks in his four-year Tide career.
+ Dante Stills’ dad, Gary, starred at linebacker for WVU from 1996-98; Gary is credited with 26 sacks in his time as a Mountaineer, third-most in school history.
+ Incoom spent the first two seasons of his career at Division II Valdosta State, and 13 of his sacks came with the Blazers.
+ Carter had 15.5 sacks last season, second-most nationally behind Will Anderson’s 17.5 and a single-season record for Army.