Virginia · L 8-34
No tackles.
Richmond · W 73-0 · FCS
No tackles.
Vanderbilt · L 31-35
No tackles.
Wake Forest · L 14-38
No tackles.
Stanford · L 28-31
No tackles.
Nelson has tackles in 3 of NC State’s 8 games: none in the other 5.
NC State is 4-4.
Played for three head coaches across three seasons and two programs. On tape: 3 tackles against Louisville, Week 5, 2026.
7 tackles · 0 sacks
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | NC State | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 |
| 2025 | Penn State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2024 | Penn State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 17 | 13 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 |
Last game (Wk 9): 1 tackle.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 4 | W 41-31vs App State | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 5 | W 31-28vs Louisville | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-10vs California | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 31 · W 31-10 vs California, play by play
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 2 passes defended in the 3 games with play by play.
How NC State’s defense played that day
California’s 13 drives: 11 stopped (1 takeaway) · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 8 of 9.
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
Week 4 · 2026
W 41-31
vs App State
1 tackle for loss · 3 tackles · 1 pass breakup
Edged out App State at home in a shootout.
Ratings of the games shown run from -8 to +12 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-72g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dave Doeren
Pass share
47.0%
258 pass / 291 run
Plays / game
68.6
8 games
Team sack rate
4.5%
288 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: James Franklin, Terry Smith and Dave Doeren.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to NC State
