Derrick Simmons
The two seasons at Michigan State span two head coaches: Jonathan Smith and Pat Fitzgerald. One game to point at: 2 tackles against UCLA — Week 8, 2026.
7 tackles · 0 sacks
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Michigan State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| 2025 | Michigan State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 10 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 8): 2 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 35-7vs Eastern Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-27@ No. 3 Notre Dame | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 13-31vs Nebraska | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 37-38vs Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-24vs No. 25 Northwestern | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 8 | L 10-28@ No. 9 UCLA | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
Week 2 · 2026
W 35-7
1 pass breakup · 1 hurry
Dominant 28-point win at home against Eastern Michigan.
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road2g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Pass share
44.3%
222 pass / 279 run
Plays / game
62.6
8 games
Team sack rate
9.4%
256 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Jonathan Smith → Pat Fitzgerald. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
