Malachi Ruffin: CB · West Virginia · #14.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Malachi Ruffin
Doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play. Fourth year in the West Virginia secondary. A game that shows it: 7 tackles against Houston — Week 7, 2023.
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
37 tackles. 5 passes defended. 1 interception. 0 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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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | West Virginia | 37 | 27 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 |
| 2022 | West Virginia | 26 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 |
| 2021 | West Virginia | 10 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2020 | West Virginia | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 77 | 53 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 15-38@ No. 7 Penn State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 56-17vs Duquesne | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 17-6vs Pittsburgh | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 20-13vs Texas Tech | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-21@ TCU | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 39-41@ Houston | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 34-48vs Oklahoma State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 41-28@ UCF | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 37-7vs BYU | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | L 20-59@ No. 17 Oklahoma | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 42-21vs Cincinnati | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 34-31@ Baylor | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 30-10vs North Carolina | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 27 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 |
Week 9 · 2023
W 41-28
at UCF
5 tackles · 1 pass breakup · 5 solo tackles
Edged out UCF on the road in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
14%5 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
37tackles this season37 tackles · 5 pass breakups · 1 interception.
4 seasons under Neal Brown — 26-22 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road6g | 3.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Neal Brown
Pass share
37.6%
332 pass / 552 run
Plays / game
68.0
13 games
Team sack rate
3.0%
329 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Four seasons at West Virginia, 77 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
1 coachPlayed every college season under Neal Brown.
