Kai Higgins: DE · Purdue · #98.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Kai Higgins
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Third year in the same defensive front at Purdue. On tape: 3 tackles against Maryland, Week 7, 2019.
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
18 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 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.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2019 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 31-34@ Nevada | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-24vs Vanderbilt | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 31-38vs Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 7-35@ No. 12 Penn State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 40-14vs Maryland | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 20-26@ No. 23 Iowa | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 6-24vs Illinois | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-27vs Nebraska | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 18 | 13 | 3.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
6%1 sackTFL rate
19%4 TFL18 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1 sack.
3 seasons under Jeff Brohm — 17-21 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2019 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Brohm
Pass share
60.5%
518 pass / 338 run
Plays / game
71.3
12 games
Team sack rate
5.2%
563 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2019
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Three seasons at Purdue, 2 sacks — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2016–2020
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Darrell Hazell, Gerad Parker, and Jeff Brohm. Multi-era developmental context.
