Linebacker, Wake Forest (from Southern Illinois), to 2024
Branson Combs
- Number
- No. 21
- Height
- 6′3″
- Weight
- 222 lb
- Class (2024)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Evansville, IN
- Born
- Jul 14, 2000
Branson Combs played linebacker at Southern Illinois (to 2023) and Wake Forest (to 2024).
Career highs
14tackles, best game on filetwice; last at North Carolina, 2024Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Southern Illinois | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Southern Illinois | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Southern Illinois | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Wake Forest | 83 | 46 | 5.5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| On file (2021–24) | 93 | 55 | 5.5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Southern Illinois | 21 | LB | Fr. | ||
| 2022 | Southern Illinois | 21 | LB | So. | ||
| 2023 | Southern Illinois | 21 | LB | Jr. | ||
| 2024 | Wake Forest | 21 | LB | Sr. | 6′3″ | 222 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2024 Wake Forest 10 games, 83 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vs. North Carolina A&T | W 45–13 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 7 | vs. Virginia | L 30–31 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 14 | vs. Ole Miss | L 6–40 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 5 | at NC State | W 34–30 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 12 | vs. Clemson | L 14–49 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 19 | at UConn | W 23–20 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 26 | at Stanford | W 27–24 | 12 | 3 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | at North Carolina | L 24–31 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | at Miami | L 14–42 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 30 | vs. Duke | L 17–23 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 Southern Illinois 4 games, 3 tackles, 2 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. Austin Peay | W 49–23 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sep 9 | at Northern Illinois | W 14–11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 ✦ | vs. Nicholls | W 35–0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| Dec 2 ✦ | at Idaho | L 17–20 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
2022 Southern Illinois 2 games, 5 tackles, 2 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17 | at Northwestern | W 31–24 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | at Missouri State | W 38–21 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
2021 Southern Illinois 1 game, 2 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11 | at Kansas State | L 23–31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Pro day 2025 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′3″ |
| Weight | 231 lb |
| Arm length | 31¼″ |
| Hand size | 9″ |
| Wingspan | 76″ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.67 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.53 s |
| Vertical jump | 34″ |
| Broad jump | 10′2″ |
| Bench press | 19 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 7.08 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.41 s |
Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
2 seasons, 12 games with a stat; latest team: Jacksonville Jaguars.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 (so far) | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| NFL career | 12 | 21 | 1 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.