Kenny Willekes: DE · Michigan State · #48.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Kenny Willekes
Collapses the pocket even when the sack doesn't come. Fourth year in the Michigan State defensive front. That makes three straight seasons on the honors list: All-Big Ten again in 2019. On tape: 12 tackles against Indiana, Week 5, 2019.
Play style
Collapses the pocket even when the sack doesn't come.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
78 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 16 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.
The Detroit News Oct 27
Detroit Free Press Oct 24
Lansing State Journal Oct 23Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Michigan State | 78 | 32 | 16.0 | 10.5 | -- |
| 2018 | Michigan State | 77 | 37 | 20.5 | 8.0 | 1 |
| 2017 | Michigan State | 72 | 33 | 14.0 | 6.5 | 2 |
| 2016 | Michigan State | -- | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 |
| Career | 227 | 102 | 50.5 | 25.0 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2019 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-7vs Tulsa | 7 | 2 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 2 | W 51-17vs Western Michigan | 5 | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 3 | L 7-10vs Arizona State | 7 | 1 | 2.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-10@ Northwestern | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 40-31vs Indiana | 12 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 10-34@ No. 4 Ohio State | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 0-38@ No. 8 Wisconsin | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 7-28vs No. 6 Penn State | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 34-37vs Illinois | 6 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 10-44@ No. 14 Michigan | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 27-0@ Rutgers | 4 | 1 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 19-16vs Maryland | 6 | 3 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
 Bowl | W 27-21vs Wake Forest | 9 | 4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 78 | 32 | 16.0 | 10.5 | — | 0 |
Week 2 · 2019
W 51-17
2 sacks · 2 tackles for loss · 5 tackles
Dominant 34-point win at home against Western Michigan.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
13%10 sacksTFL rate
21%16 TFLHurry rate
21%16 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
40%10 of 26 pressures78 tackles · 16 for loss · 10.5 sacks.
4 seasons under Mark Dantonio — 27-24 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2019 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 6.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 6.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 4.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mark Dantonio
Pass share
50.4%
463 pass / 456 run
Plays / game
70.7
13 games
Team sack rate
3.8%
497 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2019
First team in his league at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Michigan State, 25 sacks, a first-team All-Conference season (2018) — drafted at #225 overall by the Minnesota Vikings.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2019)
Coaching lineage · 2016–2019
1 coachPlayed every college season under Mark Dantonio.
Next stop · NFL
Minnesota VikingsEntering 7th NFL season
Minnesota VikingsEntering 7th NFL season
