Former inside linebacker at California. 2017: 65 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks.
6′3″ · 245 lb · Mountlake Terrace, WA
Recruiting
OLB recruit
No. 327 nationally · Signed with California
Statement game14 tackles · 3 TFL · 2 sacksvs Ole Miss (FBS) · W 27-16
Top 1% tackles game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former inside linebacker at California. 2017: 65 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks.
Devante Downs
Four seasons at California, two different head coaches: Sonny Dykes and Justin Wilcox. The receipt: 14 tackles, 0.5 TFL against USC — Week 4, 2017.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at California, 148 tackles — drafted at #225 overall by Minnesota.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2014–2017
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Sonny Dykes → Justin Wilcox. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
MinnesotaEntering 9th NFL season
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: qb hurries (91st percentile). Strength: sacks (87th percentile). Concern: passes defended (19th percentile).
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 · Per-game
2017 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 9.5 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 9.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 9.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tosh Lupoi
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2017
Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | California | 65 | 36 | 5.5 | 3.0 | -- | 2 | -- |
| 2016 | California | 83 | 42 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2015 | California | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 | -- |
| 2014 | California | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 148 | 78 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 2 | 5 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2017
W 27–16
vs Ole Miss
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 7 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 35-30@ North Carolina | 13 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 33-20vs Weber State | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 27-16vs Ole Miss | 14 | 7 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | Season-high 14 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 20-30vs USC | 14 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-45@ Oregon | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 7-38@ Washington | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 37-3vs Washington State | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 65 | 36 | 5.5 | 3.0 | 2 | 0 |
Player DNA