#43

Michael Pitts

Senior defensive end for Western Kentucky. 2021: 3 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, 24 tackles.

DE · Western Kentucky · Sr. · #43

6′3″ · 230 lb · Stone Mountain, GA

CFB Index 41 · #211 of 370 edge rushersMedium confidenceWestern Kentucky 2021 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

WDE recruit

No. 1819 nationally · Signed with Cincinnati

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive end for Western Kentucky. 2021: 3 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, 24 tackles.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Cincinnati in 2016.
Transferred from Cincinnati to Western Kentucky in 2021.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Five seasons at Western Kentucky, 12 sacks — his college career is complete.

His career

He barely played early on. Then he did not come off the field.

2016

Signed with Cincinnati3-star out of Stephenson

202112 games

Entered the portal

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#1819 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2017–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2017–2021

2 coaches

2017–2018

Mike Sanford Jr.

Western Kentucky

2019–2021

Tyson Helton

Western Kentucky

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Mike Sanford Jr. → Tyson Helton. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2017Cincinnati4-8HC: Luke Fickell · Balanced

2018Cincinnati11-2HC: Luke Fickell · Run-heavy

2019Cincinnati11-3HC: Luke Fickell · Run-heavy

2020Cincinnati9-1HC: Luke Fickell · Run-leaning

2021Western Kentucky9-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-heavy, fast tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

41Rotational starter #211 of 370?

Medium confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (90th percentile). Strength: sacks (86th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

QB hurries#213 / 2743 · 90th pct

Sacks#346 / 2743 · 86th pct

3.0

Passes defended#310 / 2743 · 86th pct

Tackles for loss#514 / 2743 · 80th pct

5.5

Solo tackles#1594 / 2743 · 40th pct

Tackles#1695 / 2743 · 37th pct

Interceptions#320 / 824 · 31st 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

2021 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home5g	1.4	0.3	0.2	0.4
Road7g	2.3	0.6	0.3	0.3

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.8	0.8	0.3	0.2
Weeks 8+6g	1.0	0.2	0.2	0.5

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Tyson Helton

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

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

41 · #211 of 370 edge rushers

Three-star recruit. Now #211 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Western Kentucky	24	14	5.5	3.0	4	1	--
2020	Cincinnati	10	3	0.5	0.0	--	--	--
2019	Cincinnati	29	16	9.5	5.5	3	--	--
2018	Cincinnati	34	18	7.5	4.0	2	--	--
2017	Cincinnati	3	--	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
Career		100	51	23.0	12.5	9	1	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2021

W 59–21

vs UT Martin

3 TOT · 2 SOLO · 1 SACKS

Dominant 38-point win at home against UT Martin.

With B. Zappe — 424 yds · 7 TD · 1 INT · QBR 92.1 · 24 rush yds (2 car) · J. Sterns — 7 rec · 107 yds · 2 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 59-21vs UT Martin	3	2	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 2	L 35-38@ Army	7	5	2.0	0.0	—	0	Season-high 7 tackles
Wk 4	L 31-33vs Indiana	1	0	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	L 31-48@ Michigan State	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 46-52vs UTSA	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	W 43-20@ Old Dominion	3	1	1.0	1.0	—	1
Wk 8	W 34-19@ Florida International	1	1	1.0	1.0	—	1
Wk 10	W 48-21vs Middle Tennessee	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 11	W 42-21@ Rice	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 12	W 52-17vs Florida Atlantic	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 13	W 53-21@ Marshall	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 14	L 41-49@ UTSA	2	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Total		23	14	5.5	3.0	—	4

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