Malik Golden: S · Penn State · #6.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Malik Golden
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Second year in the same secondary at Penn State. On tape: 11 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Michigan, Week 4, 2016.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
75 tackles. 3 passes defended. 1 interception. 6 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.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Penn State | 75 | 48 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2015 | Penn State | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Career | 75 | 48 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2016 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 33-13vs Kent State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | L 39-42@ Pittsburgh | 6 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 34-27vs Temple | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-49@ No. 4 Michigan | 11 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 6 | W 38-14vs Maryland | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 24-21vs No. 2 Ohio State | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 62-24@ Purdue | 8 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 41-14vs Iowa | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 45-31@ Indiana | 6 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 39-0@ Rutgers | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 45-12vs Michigan State | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 38-31vs No. 6 Wisconsin | 6 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 49-52vs No. 9 USC | 7 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 75 | 48 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
4%3 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
75tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%6 TFL75 tackles · 6 for loss · 3 pass breakups · 1 interception.
2 seasons under James Franklin — 18-9 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2016 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 6.4 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 7.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 4.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Pass share
42.6%
390 pass / 525 run
Plays / game
65.4
14 games
Team sack rate
5.6%
427 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2016
75 tackles in 13 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
How it ended
Two seasons at Penn State, 75 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2012–2016
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Bill O'Brien → James Franklin. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
