Senior defensive lineman on Louisiana's 2022 roster.
6′3″ · 303 lb · High Point, NC
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
DT recruit
No. 411 nationally · Joined Louisiana
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman on Louisiana's roster.
Ja-Quane Nelson
Wins his gap play after play. Ja-Quane Nelson has been at Louisiana through two head coaches in two seasons. The receipt on tape: 2 tackles against Florida State, Week 12, 2022.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Two seasons at Louisiana, 1 sacks — his college career is complete.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2021–2022
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Billy Napier → Michael Desormeaux. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 5 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Road4g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Michael Desormeaux
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2021
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Two-star recruit. Now #128 at the position.
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 5 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | L 21-33@ Rice | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 17-21@ UL Monroe | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-20vs South Alabama | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-39@ Southern Miss | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 12 | L 17-49@ Florida State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2021 production profile sits closest to Josh Fuga’s 2021 season.
Matches Josh on
Differs from Josh on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Darius Johnson's freshman season at UNLV (2022).
Matches Darius on
Player DNA