Derrick Smith: LB · Western Kentucky · #24.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Derrick Smith
Ranges from hash to hash and finishes the tackle. The five seasons span three programs and four head coaches: Mark Richt, Rod Smith, Bret Bielema and Tyson Helton. First career honor, 2022: All-Conference USA. One game to point at: 12 tackles and 2 tackles for loss against Indiana — Week 3, 2022.
Play style
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
89 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 6 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Western Kentucky | 89 | 56 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2021 | Illinois | 17 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2020 | Illinois | 22 | 15 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2018 | Miami | 11 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2017 | Miami | 13 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 152 | 97 | 9.5 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-27vs Austin Peay | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 49-17@ Hawai'i | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 30-33@ Indiana | 12 | 8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 73-0vs Florida International | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 27-34vs Troy | 7 | 7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 28-31@ UTSA | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 35-17@ Middle Tennessee | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 20-17vs UAB | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 13-40vs North Texas | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 59-7@ Charlotte | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 45-10vs Rice | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 17-41@ Auburn | 7 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 32-31@ Florida Atlantic | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 89 | 56 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
89tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%6 TFLSack rate
3%3 sacksPD rate
2%2 pass breakups89 tackles · 6 for loss · 3 sacks · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road7g | 8.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 6.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 7.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tyson Helton
Pass share
60.9%
620 pass / 398 run
Plays / game
72.7
14 games
Team sack rate
2.1%
605 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2022
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #88 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Miami, Illinois and Western Kentucky, 152 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 35 games over five seasons.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE USA
All-Conference USA mention (2022)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2022
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 3 schools: Mark Richt, Lovie Smith, Bret Bielema and Tyson Helton.
