Donovan Sheffield: CB · Vanderbilt · #21.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Donovan Sheffield
Doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play. Three seasons in the Vanderbilt secondary to date. A game that shows it: 7 tackles against South Carolina — Week 4, 2018.
Play style
Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
38 tackles. 5 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0.5 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.
On3 Oct 25
PennLive Oct 17Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Vanderbilt | 38 | 27 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 5 |
| 2017 | Vanderbilt | 14 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| 2016 | Vanderbilt | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 59 | 38 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 6 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 35-7vs Middle Tennessee | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 41-10vs Nevada | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-22@ No. 8 Notre Dame | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 14-37vs South Carolina | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 31-27vs Tennessee State | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-41@ No. 2 Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 27-37vs No. 14 Florida | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 7-14@ No. 14 Kentucky | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 45-31@ Arkansas | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 36-29vs Ole Miss | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 38-45vs Baylor | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 38 | 27 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 5 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
13%5 pass breakupsTackle volume
38tackles this season38 tackles · 0.5 for loss · 5 pass breakups.
3 seasons under Derek Mason — 17-21 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Road4g | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 3.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Derek Mason
Pass share
49.2%
413 pass / 427 run
Plays / game
64.6
13 games
Team sack rate
4.7%
451 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2018
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
How it ended
Three seasons at Vanderbilt, 59 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 23 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2015–2018
1 coachPlayed every college season under Derek Mason.
