Shaka Heyward: LB · Duke · #42.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Shaka Heyward
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Played for two head coaches in four seasons at Duke. The first one came in 2021: All-ACC. One game to point at: 13 tackles and 1 sack against Wake Forest — Week 13, 2022.
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
93 tackles. 6 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 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.
The Daily Progress Oct 23
Yahoo Sports Oct 19Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 30-0vs Temple | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 31-23@ Northwestern | 7 | 7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 | |
| Wk 3 | W 49-20vs North Carolina A&T | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 27-35@ Kansas | 6 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 38-17vs Virginia | 13 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 20-23@ Georgia Tech | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 35-38vs North Carolina | 13 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 45-21@ Miami | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 38-31@ Boston College | 11 | 8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 24-7vs Virginia Tech | 9 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 26-28@ Pittsburgh | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 34-31vs Wake Forest | 13 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 93 | 48 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 2 | 6 |
Week 13 · 2022
W 34-31
vs Wake Forest
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 13 tackles
Edged out Wake Forest at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
93tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%6 TFLSack rate
2%2 sacksPD rate
6%6 pass breakups93 tackles · 6 for loss · 2 sacks · 2 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 9.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Road6g | 6.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 7.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 8.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Elko
Pass share
45.8%
397 pass / 470 run
Plays / game
66.7
13 games
Team sack rate
3.6%
419 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2022
93 tackles in 12 games, more tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #45 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Duke, 337 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 44 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-ACC
All-ACC mention (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2019–2022
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: David Cutcliffe → Mike Elko. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
