Shawn Preston
Shawn Preston
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Three seasons at Mississippi State, two different head coaches: Mike Leach and Greg Knox. The receipt: 8 tackles against Ole Miss — Week 13, 2023.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
How it ended
Four seasons at Mississippi State, 109 tackles — his college career is complete.
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2018–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mike Leach → Greg Knox. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Lebby
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR06 · Starter
Starter. Tackle volume for the position at a full-time starter's level.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mississippi State | 59 | 23 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 | -- |
| 2022 | Mississippi State | 23 | 14 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2021 | Mississippi State | 26 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| 2018 | Mississippi State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 109 | 47 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 5 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2023
W 31–24
vs Arizona
1 QB HUR · 2 TFL · 5 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.
How he plays
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Rover
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
His 2023 production profile sits closest to Jaylen McCollough’s 2022 season.
Matches Jaylen on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.