#28

Demetrius Cain

LB · Western Kentucky · Sr. · #28

CFB Index 36 · #412 of 578 LBsHigh confidenceWestern Kentucky 2021 alumnus

The record

11 tackles · vs UTSA

Week 14, 2021

7 tackles · vs Marshall

Week 13, 2021

2 tackles · vs Rice

Week 11, 2021

2 tackles, 1 INT · vs Middle Tennessee

Week 10, 2021

4 tackles, 1 INT · vs Charlotte

Week 9, 2021

1 TFL, 1 sacks · vs Florida International

Week 8, 2021

How it ended

Two seasons at Western Kentucky, 62 tackles — his college career is complete.

Career Arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

Western Kentucky

2017–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching Lineage · 2017–2021

2 coaches

2017

Mike Sanford Jr.

Western Kentucky

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

2017Western Kentucky6-7HC: Mike Sanford Jr. · Pass-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

36Below cohort / limited sample #412 of 578?

High confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (84th). Strength: tackles (81st). Concern: passes defended (19th).

Box-score production (7)

QB hurries#323 / 2743 · 84th pct

Tackles#495 / 2743 · 82nd pct

Solo tackles#590 / 2743 · 78th pct

Interceptions#126 / 824 · 73rd pct

Sacks#704 / 2743 · 72nd pct

1.5

Tackles for loss#1640 / 2743 · 37th pct

1.5

Passes defended#1695 / 2743 · 19th 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	4.6	0.1	0.1	0.0
Road7g	4.3	0.1	0.1	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	4.3	0.1	0.1	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	4.5	0.2	0.2	0.0

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Tyson Helton

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Part-time starter

Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

36 · #412 of 578 LBs

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Western Kentucky	55	30	1.5	1.5	--	2	--
2017	Western Kentucky	7	3	1.5	1.0	2	--	--
Career		62	33	3.0	2.5	2	2	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2021

W 59–21

vs UT Martin

4 TOT · 2 SOLO

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	Note
Wk 1	W 59-21vs UT Martin	4	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 2	L 35-38@ Army	5	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 4	L 31-33vs Indiana	8	3	0.5	0.5	—
Wk 5	L 31-48@ Michigan State	3	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 6	L 46-52vs UTSA	5	3	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 7	W 43-20@ Old Dominion	1	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 8	W 34-19@ Florida International	1	1	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 9	W 45-13vs Charlotte	4	2	0.0	0.0	1
Wk 10	W 48-21vs Middle Tennessee	2	2	0.0	0.0	1
Wk 11	W 42-21@ Rice	2	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 13	W 53-21@ Marshall	7	3	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 14	L 41-49@ UTSA	11	9	0.0	0.0	—	Season-high 11 tackles
Total		53	29	1.5	1.5	2

How he plays

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

36Below cohort / limited sample #412 of 578?

High confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (84th). Strength: tackles (81st). Concern: passes defended (19th).

Box-score production (7)

QB hurries#323 / 2743 · 84th pct

Tackles#495 / 2743 · 82nd pct

Solo tackles#590 / 2743 · 78th pct

Interceptions#126 / 824 · 73rd pct

Sacks#704 / 2743 · 72nd pct

1.5

Tackles for loss#1640 / 2743 · 37th pct

1.5

Passes defended#1695 / 2743 · 19th pct

Play style

Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.

CFB Index positional classification

Activity vs finishing · season enumeration

What the box score actually says

12 games

53Tackles

29Solo

1.5TFL

1.5Sacks

0Pass def.

2INT

53 tackles. 0 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 1.5 TFL.

Week 40.5 sacks
Week 81 sack
Week 91 INT
Week 101 INT

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.

DNA match

Player DNA

Balanced Linebacker

Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.

His 2021 production profile sits closest to Tyshon Fogg’s 2021 season.

Tyshon Fogg

68%match

Rutgers · 2021

Riley Whimpey

Boise State · 2021

67%

Edefuan Ulofoshio

Washington · 2021

NFL Rd 5

66%

Xavier Smith

East Carolina · 2021

66%

Ralen Goforth

USC · 2021

66%

Matches Tyshon on

TFL rate

Solo tackle rate

Differs from Tyshon on

Weight (higher)

Hurry rate (higher)

Height (lower)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Tyshon Fogg's senior season at Rutgers (2021).

Tyshon Fogg

81%match

Rutgers · 2021

Jordan Turner

Wisconsin · 2022

80%

Zayin West

Kent State · 2021

78%

Edefuan Ulofoshio

Washington · 2021

All-Pac-12NFL Rd 5

77%

Kameron Arnold

Boston College · 2021

77%

Matches Tyshon on

TFL rate

Weight

Solo tackle rate

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