Michael Pitts: DE · Western Kentucky · #43.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Michael Pitts
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. The five seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Luke Fickell and Tyson Helton. On tape: 7 tackles and 2 tackles for loss against Army, Week 2, 2021.
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
23 tackles. 4 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 5.5 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.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Western Kentucky | 24 | 14 | 5.5 | 3.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2020 | Cincinnati | 10 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Cincinnati | 29 | 16 | 9.5 | 5.5 | 3 | -- |
| 2018 | Cincinnati | 34 | 18 | 7.5 | 4.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2017 | Cincinnati | 3 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 100 | 51 | 23.0 | 12.5 | 9 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-21vs UT Martin | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 35-38@ Army | 7 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 31-33vs Indiana | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 31-48@ No. 17 Michigan State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 46-52vs UTSA | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 43-20@ Old Dominion | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-19@ Florida International | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 48-21vs Middle Tennessee | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-21@ Rice | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 52-17vs Florida Atlantic | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 53-21@ Marshall | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 41-49@ UTSA | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 14 | 5.5 | 3.0 | — | 4 |
Week 1 · 2021
W 59-21
vs UT Martin
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 3 tackles
Dominant 38-point win at home against UT Martin.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
12%3 sacksTFL rate
23%6 TFLHurry rate
17%4 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
43%3 of 7 pressures24 tackles · 5.5 for loss · 3 sacks · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Road7g | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tyson Helton
Pass share
64.3%
696 pass / 387 run
Plays / game
83.3
13 games
Team sack rate
2.2%
762 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-heavy, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #211 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Cincinnati and Western Kentucky, 12 sacks — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Luke Fickell.
