Sam Okuayinonu: DL · Maryland · #97.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Sam Okuayinonu
Wins the gap play after play. Third year in the Maryland defensive front. The first career honor came in 2021: All-Big Ten. On tape: 9 tackles against Minnesota, Week 8, 2021.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
52 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 8.5 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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Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 30-24vs West Virginia | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 62-0vs Howard | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 20-17@ Illinois | 6 | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 4 | W 37-16vs Kent State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-51vs No. 5 Iowa | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-66@ No. 7 Ohio State | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 16-34@ Minnesota | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 38-35vs Indiana | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 14-31vs No. 22 Penn State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 21-40@ No. 8 Michigan State | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 18-59vs No. 8 Michigan | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 40-16@ Rutgers | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 33 | 8.5 | 6.0 | — | 0 |
Week 3 · 2021
W 20-17
at Illinois
2 sacks · 2 tackles for loss · 6 tackles
A close one, won by 3 on the road.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
15%8 TFLSack rate
11%6 sacksHurry rate
2%1 hurry55 tackles · 8.5 for loss · 6 sacks.
3 seasons under Mike Locksley — 12-18 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 5.4 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Locksley
Pass share
53.3%
489 pass / 428 run
Plays / game
76.4
12 games
Team sack rate
4.7%
512 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #246 at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Maryland, 8 sacks — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 26 games over three seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN
All-Big Ten mention (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: D.J. Durkin, Matt Canada, and Mike Locksley. Multi-era developmental context.
