Senior linebacker for Rice. 2021: 16 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks.
6′1″ · 235 lb · Pflugerville, TX
The story
4 linebacker for Rice. 2021: 16 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks.
The record fills in as he plays.
His career, year by yearAnthony Ekpe
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Anthony Ekpe has played for three head coaches across five seasons and two programs. 2020 brought the first one: All-MAC. The receipt on tape: 5 tackles, 1 TFL against Eastern Michigan, Week 7, 2021.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at Ball State, 97 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2020) — his college career is complete.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 1ST TEAM
All-MAC 1st team (2020)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: David Bailiff → Mike Bloomgren. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: sacks (89th percentile). Concern: tackles (18th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scott Abell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2021
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Rice | 16 | 9 | 4.5 | 3.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2020 | Ball State | 14 | 11 | 7.0 | 5.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Rice | 23 | 12 | 5.0 | 2.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2018 | Rice | 35 | 25 | 6.5 | 6.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2017 | Rice | 9 | 9 | 3.0 | 1.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 97 | 66 | 26.0 | 18.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 7 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 5 | W 28-16vs Army | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 45-20@ Western Michigan | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 38-31@ Eastern Michigan | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 17-24vs Miami (OH) | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-25@ Akron | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 29-30@ Northern Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 20-3vs Buffalo | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 9 | 4.5 | 3.5 | — | 0 |
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
His 2021 production profile sits closest to Shamar McCollum’s 2021 season.
Matches Shamar on
Differs from Shamar on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Kingsley Jonathan's senior season at Syracuse (2021).
Matches Kingsley on
Differs from Kingsley on
Player DNA