Sulaiman Kpaka: DL · Mississippi State · #8.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Sulaiman Kpaka
Wins the gap play after play. Played for three head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Jeff Brohm, Ryan Walters and Jeff Lebby. A game that shows it: 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Missouri — Week 13, 2024.
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
30 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 4.5 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Mississippi State | 30 | 8 | 4.5 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2023 | Purdue | 10 | 5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2022 | Purdue | 18 | 10 | 1.5 | 0.5 | -- |
| 2020 | Purdue | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 59 | 23 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 10 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 56-7vs Eastern Kentucky | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 23-30@ Arizona State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-41vs Toledo | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 28-45vs Florida | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-34vs No. 14 Texas A&M | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 25-58vs Arkansas | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 45-20vs Massachusetts | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 14-33@ No. 7 Tennessee | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 20-39vs Missouri | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 14 | L 14-26@ No. 15 Ole Miss | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 8 | 4.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
15%4 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksHurry rate
3%1 hurry30 tackles · 4.5 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 3.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Lebby
Pass share
46.9%
367 pass / 416 run
Plays / game
65.2
12 games
Team sack rate
9.5%
400 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Four seasons, at Purdue and Mississippi State, 2 sacks — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2024
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Jeff Brohm, Ryan Walters and Jeff Lebby.
