Shaka Heyward, a Mill Creek High School 2018 alumni, is currently a signed free agent for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. His years after graduation were spend at Duke, where he was a Linebacker. As a freshman at Duke, the NFL Draft Buzz describe him as, “Heyward saw action in just one game and played a total of 3 snaps at linebacker for the Blue Devils. He recorded no tackles, no assists, while adding no stops.”
Hayward’s sophomore year went pretty well, NFL Draft Buzz says, “Heyward played in 10 games and took part in 484 snaps for the Blue Devils. He recorded 48 tackles, 11 assists, while adding 25 stops. In coverage Heyward made one pass breakup, one interception, and a QB rating when targeted of 56.3. As a pass rusher, he chalked up 15 total pressures, and 6 QB hurries, 5 QB hits, and 4 sacks during the year.”
When Heyward was on his fifth year at Duke, he had increased his stats exponentially. NFL Draft Buzz says, “As a fifth year senior Heyward logged playing time in 12 games and logged a total of 749 snaps for the Blue Devils. He also added decent 67 tackles, 27 assists, and 34 stops. While in coverage Heyward made 5 pass breakups, 2 interceptions, and a QB rating when targeted of 85.1. As a pass rusher, he tallied 14 total pressures, which included 10 QB hurries, one QB hit, and 3 sacks on the season.”
Heyward was recruited in late April this year, to sign as a free agent, for the Cincinnati Bengals. “He had elite athleticism scores, something the Bengals valued highly in this year’s NFL Draft” the Cincy Jungle said.
