Deshawn McKnight is a defensive lineman who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Arizona.
McKnight disrupts the pocket from the interior. The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Shawn Clark and Brent Brennan. On tape: 4 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Cincinnati, Week 12, 2025.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
26 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 11 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 10 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 40-6vs Hawai'i | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-3vs Weber State | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 23-17vs Kansas State | 3 | 2 | 2.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 5 | L 14-39@ No. 14 Iowa State | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 41-13vs Oklahoma State | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 27-33vs No. 18 BYU | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 28-31@ Houston | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 24-20vs Kansas | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 30-24@ No. 22 Cincinnati | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 41-17vs Baylor | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 9 | 11.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 |
Week 3 · 2025
W 23-17
vs Kansas State
0.5 sacks · 2.5 tackles for loss · 3 tackles
A close one, won by 6 at home.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
42%11 TFLSack rate
8%2 sacksHurry rate
8%2 hurries26 tackles · 11 for loss · 2 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Brennan
Pass share
49.7%
447 pass / 452 run
Plays / game
69.2
13 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
445 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #281 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #24 of 35 Big 12 DLs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
The No. 1,338 recruit in the country is starting on the defensive line in the Big 12 as a senior.
Played for three programs.
The snaps went the other way.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Shawn Clark and Brent Brennan.
