Shawn Preston: S · Mississippi State · #12.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Shawn Preston
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. The six seasons at Mississippi State span three head coaches: Joe Moorhead, Mike Leach and Greg Knox. A game that shows it: 8 tackles against Ole Miss — Week 13, 2023.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
59 tackles. 3 passes defended. 3 interceptions. 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.
The Clarion-Ledger Oct 17Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mississippi State | 59 | 23 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2022 | Mississippi State | 23 | 14 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2021 | Mississippi State | 26 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | Mississippi State | 66 | 35 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 4 | -- |
| 2019 | Mississippi State | 25 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2018 | Mississippi State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 200 | 97 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 12 | 5 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 48-7vs SE Louisiana | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 31-24vs Arizona | 7 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 14-41vs No. 14 LSU | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 30-37@ South Carolina | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-40vs No. 12 Alabama | 7 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 41-28vs Western Michigan | 6 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 7-3@ Arkansas | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | L 13-27@ Auburn | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 3-24vs Kentucky | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 10-51@ Texas A&M | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 41-20vs Southern Miss | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 7-17vs No. 12 Ole Miss | 8 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Total | 59 | 23 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 |
Week 2 · 2023
W 31-24
vs Arizona
1 interception · 2 tackles for loss · 7 tackles
A close one, won by 7 at home.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%3 pass breakupsInterceptions
3interceptionsTackle volume
59tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%5 TFL59 tackles · 5 for loss · 3 pass breakups · 3 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 5.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 4.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Greg Knox
Pass share
47.0%
348 pass / 393 run
Plays / game
61.8
12 games
Team sack rate
6.8%
367 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2023
59 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #93 at the position.
How it ended
Six seasons at Mississippi State, 200 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2018–2023
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Joe Moorhead, Mike Leach, and Zach Arnett. Multi-era developmental context.
