6′5″ · 312 lb · Sacramento, CA · Capital Christian
Nifae Lealao: DL · Vanderbilt · #77.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nifae Lealao
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move. He has spent two seasons in the Vanderbilt defensive front. One game to point at: 5 tackles and 2 tackles for loss against Kentucky — Week 11, 2017.
Play style
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
23 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 4 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Vanderbilt | 23 | 8 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 2 |
| 2016 | Vanderbilt | 22 | 15 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 3 |
| Career | 45 | 23 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 5 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-6@ Middle Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-0vs Alabama A&M | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 14-7vs No. 18 Kansas State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 0-59vs No. 1 Alabama | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-38@ No. 21 Florida | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 14-45vs No. 5 Georgia | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 35-57@ Ole Miss | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 27-34@ South Carolina | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-17vs Western Kentucky | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 21-44vs Kentucky | 5 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 12 | L 17-45vs Missouri | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 42-24@ Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 8 | 4.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
17%4 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksHurry rate
26%6 hurries23 tackles · 4 for loss.
2 seasons under Derek Mason — 11-14 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Derek Mason
Pass share
54.2%
403 pass / 341 run
Plays / game
62.0
12 games
Team sack rate
4.1%
435 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2017
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Two seasons at Vanderbilt, 2 sacks — his college career is complete.
His career
Coaching lineage · 2014–2017
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Derek Mason.
