Michael Kennedy

Senior defensive end for Northern Illinois. 2022: 6 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 27 tackles.

DE · Northern Illinois · Sr. · #5

6′1″ · 225 lb · Chicago, IL

CFB Index 57 · #156 of 387 edge rushersMedium confidenceAll-ConferenceNorthern Illinois 2022 alumnus

The story

4 defensive end for Northern Illinois. 2022: 6 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 27 tackles.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Northern Illinois in 2017.

His career, year by year

Recruiting

2★

RB recruit

No. 3155 nationally · Signed with Northern Illinois

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

How it ended

Five seasons at Northern Illinois, 10 sacks — his college career is complete.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

2017

Signed with Northern Illinois2-star out of Mount Carmel

202210 games

All-MACthird

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#3155 national

CFB

College

Northern Illinois

2018–2022

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

2 honors · 1 category

🎖

ALL-MAC

All-MAC mention (2022)

Coaching lineage · 2018–2022

2 coaches

2018

Rod Carey

Northern Illinois

2019–2022

Thomas Hammock

Northern Illinois

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Rod Carey → Thomas Hammock. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2022 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2018Northern Illinois8-6HC: Rod Carey · Run-leaning

2019Northern Illinois5-7HC: Thomas Hammock · Run-leaning

2020Northern Illinois0-6HC: Thomas Hammock · Balanced

2021Northern Illinois9-5HC: Thomas Hammock · Run-heavy, fast tempo

2022Northern Illinois3-9HC: Thomas Hammock · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

57Quality starter #156 of 387?

Medium confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (97th percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (86th percentile). Concern: passes defended (18th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Sacks#77 / 2755 · 97th pct

6.0

Tackles for loss#347 / 2755 · 86th pct

6.5

QB hurries#329 / 2755 · 85th pct

Tackles#1443 / 2755 · 46th pct

Solo tackles#1877 / 2755 · 30th pct

Passes defended#1741 / 2755 · 18th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2022 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home4g	2.2	0.2	0.4	0.0
Road6g	3.0	0.9	0.8	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	2.6	0.6	0.6	0.0
Weeks 8+3g	3.0	0.7	0.5	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Rob Harley

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2022

All-Conference

Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

57 · #156 of 387 edge rushers

Two-star recruit. Now #156 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2022	Northern Illinois	27	10	6.5	6.0	--	--	--
2021	Northern Illinois	44	23	4.0	1.0	1	--	--
2020	Northern Illinois	17	4	2.5	1.0	--	--	--
2019	Northern Illinois	9	6	2.0	1.0	1	--	--
2018	Northern Illinois	1	1	1.0	1.0	--	--	--
Career		98	44	16.0	10.0	2	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2022

W 34–27

vs Eastern Illinois

0 SACKS · 3 TOT

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.

With R. Lombardi — 192 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 67.2 · H. Waylee — 83 rush yds (14 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2022 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	Note
Wk 1	W 34-27vs Eastern Illinois	3	0	0.0	0.5	—
Wk 2	L 35-38@ Tulsa	2	1	1.5	1.0	—
Wk 3	L 28-38vs Vanderbilt	2	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 4	L 23-31@ Kentucky	5	2	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 5	L 38-44@ Ball State	3	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 6	L 32-52vs Toledo	2	1	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 7	W 39-10@ Eastern Michigan	1	1	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 8	L 17-24@ Ohio	6	1	1.0	0.5	—	Season-high 6 tackles
Wk 10	L 22-35vs Central Michigan	2	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 11	W 24-21@ Western Michigan	1	1	1.0	1.0	—
Total		27	10	6.5	6.0	—

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Michael Kennedy

2017

202210 games

2022 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

All-Conference

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Finisher

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