CAREER: Lettered four seasons (2016-17-18-19) ... in 41 career games (36 starts), posted 94 tackles, 18.0 tackles for lost yardage, 9.0 sacks, one pass breakup, one caused fumble, one fumble recovery and 11 quarterback pressures ... finished with 17 career games with 3+ tackles, including a personal-high five stops against Buffalo and Akron in 2017 and Northern Illinois in 2019 ... registered eight career games with 4+ tackles … team captain as a senior … registered 15 games with 1.0+ TFL, including a career-best 2.0 at Central Michigan in 2018 … one of 16 Broncos in program history to record a sack in a bowl game, dropping Western Kentucky’s Ty Storey in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in 2019.
2019: Team captain … started all 13 games … compiled a single-year high 36 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks and four QB pressures ... posted 3+ tackles in eight games with a career-best five versus Northern Illinois in the regular season finale ... booked four stops, including an 11-yard sack, and a QB pressure at Syracuse … tallied other sacks against Monmouth (1.0), Miami (0.5) and Western Kentucky (1.0) … became the 16th Bronco to record a sack in a bowl game with the drop versus WKU … also credited with a QB pressure against Monmouth, Miami and Bowling Green … on the field for 597 total snaps.
2018: Played in all 13 games and started 11 … finished with 21 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery and four QB pressures ... posted 3+ tackles in three games including a season-best four at Eastern Michigan ... turned in three stops, 1.0 TFL and a QB pressure versus Syracuse in the season opener … recorded three tackles, a career-best 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack and a QB pressure in win at Central Michigan … was credited with at least 1.0 TFL in consecutive weeks against Miami (1.0), Eastern Michigan (1.0), Bowling Green (1.0) and Central Michigan (2.0) … recovered first fumble of career against the Falcons … collected a QB pressure versus Miami, BGSU and CMU … on the field for 555 total snaps.
2017: Started all 12 games … recorded 33 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks, one PBU, one caused fumble and three QB pressures … tallied 4+ stops in four games with a personal-best five against Buffalo and Akron in consecutive weeks … carded four tackles each against No. 4 Southern California and Michigan State in back-to-back weeks to open the season … collected first career TFL, sack and caused fumble all on the same play against Idaho in week three … registered a PBU versus Buffalo before QB pressures in three of the final six weeks, against Akron, Eastern Michigan and Kent State … booked a sack in three of the final four games, versus Central Michigan (1.0), Kent State (1.0) and Toledo (1.0) … on the field for 694 total snaps.
2016: Played in three games … experienced action versus N.C. Central, Akron and Ball State … recorded four tackles … collected two hits apiece against the Eagles and Zips … a member of one of the best teams in Western Michigan history as it captured the MAC West Division title and Marathon MAC Championship Game crown and made an appearance in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic … team finished the regular season with a 12-0 record and only loss was to Wisconsin in the bowl tilt.
PRIOR TO WESTERN MICHIGAN: A three-star prospect as rated by Scout.com and Rivals.com … ranked No. 27 on Detroit News Blue Chip Recruits list … first team All-Metro East … first team all-state and first team all-conference … holds single-season sack record with 16 … booked 142 career tackles and 21 sacks.
PERSONAL: Born October 25, 1996, in Vitini, Kosovo ... graduated from Western Michigan University in December, 2019, with a degree in engineering design technology … son of Jacinte and Luigi Balabani.
