Vonnie Watkins: DE · Ohio · #17.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Vonnie Watkins
Collapses the pocket even when the sack doesn't come. Played for two head coaches in three seasons at Ohio. The first career honor came in 2023: All-MAC. One game to point at: 6 tackles against Western Michigan — Week 8, 2023.
Play style
Collapses the pocket even when the sack doesn't come.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
33 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 8 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.
Eleven Warriors Oct 27
The Columbus Dispatch Oct 20Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-20@ San Diego State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 1 | W 27-10vs Long Island University | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 2 | W 17-10@ Florida Atlantic | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 10-7vs Iowa State | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-7@ Bowling Green | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 42-17vs Kent State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 13-23@ Northern Illinois | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 20-17vs Western Michigan | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 9 | L 16-30vs Miami (OH) | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 20-10@ Buffalo | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 34-20vs Central Michigan | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 25-14@ Akron | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 41-21vs Georgia Southern | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 15 | 8.0 | 5.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
15%5 sacksTFL rate
24%8 TFLHurry rate
33%11 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
31%5 of 16 pressures33 tackles · 8 for loss · 5 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tim Albin
Pass share
45.0%
383 pass / 469 run
Plays / game
65.5
13 games
Team sack rate
4.1%
388 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #70 at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Ohio, 10 sacks — the college career is complete.
Recruited as a two-star, and honored since.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC
All-MAC mention (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Frank Solich → Tim Albin. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
