DeAngelo Malone: DE · Western Kentucky · #10.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
DeAngelo Malone
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Played for two head coaches at Western Kentucky: Mike Sanford Jr. and Tyson Helton. Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. On tape: 12 tackles against Army, Week 2, 2021.
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
88 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 16.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Western Kentucky | 94 | 44 | 17.5 | 9.0 | 4 | -- |
| 2020 | Western Kentucky | 71 | 45 | 11.0 | 6.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2019 | Western Kentucky | 99 | 55 | 20.5 | 11.0 | -- | -- |
| 2018 | Western Kentucky | 59 | 30 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 | Western Kentucky | 25 | 8 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 348 | 182 | 58.5 | 32.5 | 7 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-21vs UT Martin | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 35-38@ Army | 12 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 31-33vs Indiana | 9 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 31-48@ No. 17 Michigan State | 9 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 46-52vs UTSA | 11 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 43-20@ Old Dominion | 8 | 3 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 8 | W 34-19@ Florida International | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 45-13vs Charlotte | 5 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 48-21vs Middle Tennessee | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-21@ Rice | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 52-17vs Florida Atlantic | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 53-21@ Marshall | 7 | 5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 14 | L 41-49@ UTSA | 9 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 88 | 41 | 16.5 | 8.0 | — | 3 |
Week 13 · 2021
W 53-21
at Marshall
2 sacks · 2.5 tackles for loss · 7 tackles
Dominant 32-point win on the road against Marshall.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
10%9 sacksTFL rate
19%18 TFLHurry rate
7%7 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
56%9 of 16 pressures94 tackles · 17.5 for loss · 9 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
| Road7g | 7.6 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 8.5 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 5.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tyson Helton
Pass share
64.3%
696 pass / 387 run
Plays / game
83.3
13 games
Team sack rate
2.2%
762 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-heavy, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
First team in his league at the position.
The All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #4 of 370 FBS edge rushers by CFB Zeitgeist Score.2021 profile
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #4 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Western Kentucky, 32 sacks, a first-team All-Conference season (2020) — drafted at #82 overall by the Atlanta Falcons.
Recruited as a two-star, and honored since.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE USA · 1ST TEAM
All-Conference USA 1st team (2021)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2021)
2 career weekly honors across 2 seasons
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mike Sanford Jr. → Tyson Helton. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Next stop · NFL
Atlanta FalconsEntering 5th NFL season
Atlanta FalconsEntering 5th NFL season
