Florida Atlantic · L 10-16
No catches.
Long Island University · W 20-3 · FCS
No catches.
Liberty · L 10-49
1 catch, 12 yards
The other 5 games average 30 yards. This one was 18 below.
Nelson has catches in 6 of Florida International’s 8 games: none against Florida Atlantic and Long Island University.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Eric Nelson
Two seasons in the Florida International receiving corps to date. On tape: 61 receiving yards and 3 receptions against Buffalo, Week 2, 2026.
162 receiving yards · 12 catches · 0 receiving TD
Play style
Moves the chains on third down.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Against Liberty on Oct. 31: 1 catch for 12 yards, 0 of 2 on third and fourth down. In the 6 games drawn here: 12 catches for 162 yards. Florida International has thrown to him 19 times in 210 passes.
Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Florida International | 12 | 162 | 13.5 | 0 | 35 |
| 2025 | Florida International | 8 | 125 | 15.6 | 1 | 34 |
| Career | 20 | 287 | 14.3 | 1 | 35 |
Last game (Wk 9): 12 receiving yards, 1 catch.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 9-19@ South Florida | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 2 | W 33-20vs Buffalo | 3 | 61 | 20.3 | 0 | 35 | Season-high 61 yds |
| Wk 6 | W 22-3vs New Mexico State | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 7 | L 24-27@ Jacksonville State | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 8 | L 23-26vs Middle Tennessee | 2 | 28 | 14.0 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-49@ Liberty | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Total | 12 | 162 | 13.5 | 0 | 35 |
Week 1 · 2026
L 9-19
The plays that mattered most
531st in receiving yards, among all 2,086 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +8 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
218% of team targetsCatch rate
57%12 of 21 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
57% catch rate on 21 targets · 8% of the team's targets.
2 seasons under Willie Simmons, all balanced offenses — 10-11 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.0 | 30.7 | 12.4 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 2.0 | 23.3 | 12.6 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 2.2 | 30.5 | 12.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 1.5 | 20.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Willie Simmons
Pass share
50.7%
272 pass / 265 run
Plays / game
67.1
8 games
Team sack rate
3.4%
296 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #415 at the position.
The No. 2,777 recruit in the country is starting at receiver in the Conference USA.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mike MacIntyre → Willie Simmons. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
