Nelson Smith: FB · Navy · #43.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nelson Smith
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Four seasons in the Navy backfield to date. A game that shows it: 157 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD against East Carolina — Week 7, 2020.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 21.4% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 10.9% of his carries. 5 carries for 18 yds vs BYU; 17 for 157 vs East Carolina.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
12 of 14 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (85.7%). 8 of the team's 16 inside-the-5 carries (50.0%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Game log · Week-by-week
2020 season · 10 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 3-55vs BYU | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 3 | W 27-24@ Tulane | 6 | 22 | 3.7 | 2 | 7 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-40@ Air Force | 7 | 25 | 3.6 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 6 | W 31-29vs Temple | 20 | 120 | 6.0 | 2 | 26 | |
| Wk 7 | W 27-23@ East Carolina | 17 | 157 | 9.2 | 2 | 32 | Season-high 157 yds |
| Wk 8 | L 21-37vs Houston | 11 | 51 | 4.6 | 0 | 21 | |
| Wk 9 | L 37-51@ No. 22 SMU | 10 | 54 | 5.4 | 1 | 28 | |
| Wk 13 | L 7-10vs Memphis | 29 | 142 | 4.9 | 1 | 22 | |
| Wk 14 | L 6-19vs No. 22 Tulsa | 12 | 33 | 2.8 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 15 | L 0-15vs Army | 11 | 23 | 2.1 | 0 | 6 | |
| Total | 128 | 645 | 5.0 | 8 | 32 |
Week 13 · 2020
L 7-10
vs Memphis
The plays that mattered most
Season context: team record and system
4 seasons under Ken Niumatalolo — 24-25 over that span.
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
44%128 carriesFumble rate
0.8%1 of 128 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.0 yds/carry on 128 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 44% success rate.
Splits · Per-game
2020 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 72.8 | 4.4 | 0.6 |
| Road4g | 64.5 | 5.5 | 1.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 68.4 | 5.2 | 1.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 60.6 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ken Niumatalolo
Pass share
20.3%
122 pass / 479 run
Plays / game
60.1
10 games
Team sack rate
14.4%
153 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2020
128 carries in 10 games, about as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Navy, 1,639 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2017–2020
1 coachPlayed every college season under Ken Niumatalolo.
