Ralph Holley: DT · Western Michigan · #8.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ralph Holley
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Fifth year in the same defensive front at Western Michigan. All-MAC in 2021 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. On tape: 5 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Akron, Week 11, 2021.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
35 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 14.5 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 Michigan | 39 | 26 | 16.5 | 6.0 | 2 |
| 2020 | Western Michigan | 29 | 12 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 2 |
| 2019 | Western Michigan | 38 | 17 | 10.5 | 4.5 | -- |
| 2018 | Western Michigan | 29 | 20 | 9.5 | 5.0 | 1 |
| 2017 | Western Michigan | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 138 | 77 | 45.5 | 18.5 | 5 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-47@ Michigan | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-0vs Illinois State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 44-41@ Pittsburgh | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 23-3vs San José State | 5 | 3 | 3.0 | 2.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 5 | W 24-17@ Buffalo | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 20-45vs Ball State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 64-31vs Kent State | 3 | 3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 15-34@ Toledo | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 30-42vs Central Michigan | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 45-40vs Akron | 5 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 21-22@ Eastern Michigan | 4 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 42-21@ Northern Illinois | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 24 | 14.5 | 5.5 | — | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
42%16 TFLSack rate
15%6 sacksHurry rate
10%4 hurries39 tackles · 16.5 for loss · 6 sacks.
5 seasons under Tim Lester — 32-25 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.7 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tim Lester
Pass share
38.7%
368 pass / 583 run
Plays / game
79.2
12 games
Team sack rate
6.8%
395 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #192 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Western Michigan, 138 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2020) — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 2ND TEAM
All-MAC 2nd team (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Tim Lester.
