Malcolm Rodriguez: LB · Oklahoma State · #20.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Malcolm Rodriguez
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Fifth year in the same linebacker corps at Oklahoma State. All-America (ESPN) in 2021 made it three straight seasons on the honors list. A game that shows it: 15 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Missouri State — Week 1, 2021.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
118 tackles. 2 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 New York Times Nov 1
Sports Illustrated Oct 29
Oklahoma State University Athletics Oct 22
The Oklahoman Oct 22Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Oklahoma State | 129 | 76 | 16.0 | 3.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2020 | Oklahoma State | 82 | 57 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 3 | -- |
| 2019 | Oklahoma State | 103 | 60 | 7.0 | 1.5 | 3 | 1 |
| 2018 | Oklahoma State | 83 | 53 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2017 | Oklahoma State | 11 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 408 | 254 | 35.0 | 7.5 | 11 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 23-16vs Missouri State | 15 | 9 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 15 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 28-23vs Tulsa | 13 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 21-20@ Boise State | 8 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-20vs No. 25 Kansas State | 7 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-14vs No. 21 Baylor | 11 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 32-24@ No. 25 Texas | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 21-24@ Iowa State | 13 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 55-3vs Kansas | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 24-3@ West Virginia | 9 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 63-17vs TCU | 6 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 23-0@ Texas Tech | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 37-33vs No. 10 Oklahoma | 11 | 5 | 3.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 14 | L 16-21vs No. 9 Baylor | 12 | 8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 118 | 68 | 16.0 | 3.0 | — | 2 |
Week 13 · 2021
W 37-33
vs Oklahoma
2 sacks · 3 tackles for loss · 11 tackles
Edged out Oklahoma at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
129tackles this seasonTFL rate
12%16 TFLSack rate
2%3 sacksPD rate
3%4 pass breakups129 tackles · 16 for loss · 3 sacks · 1 interception.
5 seasons under Mike Gundy — 45-19 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 9.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 7.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 9.8 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 8.4 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Gundy
Pass share
42.8%
447 pass / 598 run
Plays / game
80.4
13 games
Team sack rate
3.6%
476 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
First team on a list outside the NCAA-recognized selectors.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #201 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2021
How it ended
Five seasons at Oklahoma State, 408 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2021) — drafted at #188 overall by the Detroit Lions.
A stat line in 54 games over five seasons.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2021)
named by 1 selector
ALL-BIG 12 · 1ST TEAM
All-Big 12 1st team (2021)
Weekly recognition
3 weekly honors (2021)
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Mike Gundy.
Next stop · NFL
Detroit LionsEntering 5th NFL season
Detroit LionsEntering 5th NFL season
