Malik Rucker: DB · Western Michigan · #30.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Malik Rucker
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. A game that shows it: 10 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Eastern Michigan — Week 8, 2017.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
37 tackles. 5 passes defended. 1 interception. 2 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Western Michigan | 37 | 25 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 |
| Career | 37 | 25 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 4 | W 49-14vs Wagner | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 5 | W 55-3vs Ball State | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 71-68@ Buffalo | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 13-14vs Akron | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 20-17@ Eastern Michigan | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 10 | L 28-35vs Central Michigan | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 48-20vs Kent State | 6 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 31-35@ Northern Illinois | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 25 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 |
Week 8 · 2017
W 20-17
1 tackle for loss · 10 tackles · 6 solo tackles
A close one, won by 3 on the road.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
14%5 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
37tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%2 TFL37 tackles · 2 for loss · 5 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Road3g | 5.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 6.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tim Lester
Pass share
34.4%
294 pass / 561 run
Plays / game
71.2
12 games
Team sack rate
7.7%
324 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2017
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
How it ended
One season at Western Michigan, 37 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2015–2017
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: P.J. Fleck → Tim Lester. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
