#97

Darius Shipp

Senior defensive tackle on Western Kentucky's 2022 roster.

DT · Western Kentucky · Sr. · #97

6′1″ · 305 lb · Olive Branch, MS

CFB Index 38 · #186 of 278 interior linemenLow confidenceWestern Kentucky 2022 alumnus

The story

4 defensive tackle on Western Kentucky's roster.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Austin Peay in 2018.

His career, year by year

Recruiting

2★

DT recruit

No. 2943 nationally · Signed with Austin Peay

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

How it ended

Three seasons at Western Kentucky, 73 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

2018

Signed with Austin Peay2-star out of Olive Branch

20207 games

Signed with Western Kentucky3-star out of Northeast Mississippi C.C.

202113 games

All-Conference USAhonorable_mention

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#2943 national

CFB

College

Western Kentucky

2020–2022

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 honor

🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE USA

All-Conference USA mention (2021)

Coaching lineage · 2020–2022

1 coach

2020–2022

Tyson Helton

Western Kentucky

Played his entire career under Tyson Helton.

2022 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Tyson Helton — 23-17 over that span.

2020Western Kentucky5-7HC: Tyson Helton · Balanced

2021Western Kentucky9-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-heavy, fast tempo

2022Western Kentucky9-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

38Below cohort / limited sample #186 of 278?

Low confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (85th percentile). Concern: passes defended (18th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

QB hurries#329 / 2755 · 85th pct

Tackles#1846 / 2755 · 32nd pct

Solo tackles#1877 / 2755 · 30th pct

Tackles for loss#1784 / 2755 · 29th pct

1.0

Sacks#1454 / 2755 · 24th pct

0.0

Passes defended#1741 / 2755 · 18th pct

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 & context

Splits · Per-game

2022 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home5g	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Road6g	1.7	0.2	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	1.2	0.2	0.0	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	2.6	0.0	0.0	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Tyson Helton

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2022

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

38 · #186 of 278 interior linemen

Three-star recruit. Now #186 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2022	Western Kentucky	20	10	1.0	0.0	--	--	--
2021	Western Kentucky	40	20	6.5	2.0	3	--	--
2020	Western Kentucky	13	6	4.0	1.0	1	--	--
Career		73	36	11.5	3.0	4	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2022

W 38–27

vs Austin Peay

1 QB HUR · 1 SOLO · 1 TOT

With T. Ellard — 1 SOLO · 1 TOT · 45 AVG · A. Reed — 279 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 76.5 · 6 rush yds (2 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2022 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	INT	Note
Wk 1	W 38-27vs Austin Peay	1	1	0.0	—
Wk 1	W 49-17@ Hawai'i	2	2	0.0	—
Wk 3	L 30-33@ Indiana	0	0	0.0	—
Wk 4	W 73-0vs Florida International	1	0	0.0	—
Wk 6	L 28-31@ UTSA	2	1	1.0	—
Wk 7	W 35-17@ Middle Tennessee	1	0	0.0	—
Wk 8	W 20-17vs UAB	2	1	0.0	—
Wk 9	L 13-40vs North Texas	4	3	0.0	—	Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 10	W 59-7@ Charlotte	2	1	0.0	—
Wk 11	W 45-10vs Rice	2	0	0.0	—
Wk 13	W 32-31@ Florida Atlantic	3	1	0.0	—
Total		20	10	1.0	—

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology