Desmond King: DB · Iowa · #14.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Desmond King
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Three seasons in the Iowa secondary to date. All-Big Ten in 2016 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. On tape: 12 tackles against Wisconsin, Week 8, 2016.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
58 tackles. 7 passes defended. 3 interceptions. 3.5 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.
KCCI Oct 28
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul Oct 27Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2016 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-21vs Miami (OH) | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-3vs Iowa State | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 21-23vs North Dakota State | 6 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 14-7@ Rutgers | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 5 | L 31-38vs Northwestern | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 6 | W 14-7@ Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 49-35@ Purdue | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | L 9-17vs No. 10 Wisconsin | 12 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Wk 10 | L 14-41@ No. 20 Penn State | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 14-13vs No. 2 Michigan | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 28-0@ Illinois | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 40-10vs No. 17 Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 3-30vs No. 20 Florida | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 58 | 42 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 7 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
12%7 pass breakupsInterceptions
3interceptionsTackle volume
58tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%4 TFL58 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 7 pass breakups · 3 interceptions.
3 seasons under Kirk Ferentz — 27-13 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2016 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 5.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road5g | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 4.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Pass share
38.7%
310 pass / 492 run
Plays / game
61.7
13 games
Team sack rate
9.1%
342 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2016
First team in his league at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Iowa, 58 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2015) — drafted at #151 overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.
A stat line in 32 games over three seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2016)
Coaching lineage · 2013–2016
1 coachPlayed every college season under Kirk Ferentz.
Next stop · NFL
Los Angeles ChargersEntering 10th NFL season
Los Angeles ChargersEntering 10th NFL season
