Last confirmed: UTEP, 2018. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′0″ · 203 lb · Buena Park, CA
Nik Needham: DB · UTEP · #5.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nik Needham
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Four seasons at UTEP, three different head coaches: Sean Kugler, Mike Price and Dana Dimel. A game that shows it: 10 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Middle Tennessee — Week 11, 2018.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
60 tackles. 9 passes defended. 1 interception. 5 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.
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 10-30vs Northern Arizona | 7 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-52@ UNLV | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 0-24@ Tennessee | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 20-27vs New Mexico State | 6 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 21-30@ UTSA | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-27vs North Texas | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-31@ Louisiana Tech | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 9 | L 0-19vs UAB | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 34-26@ Rice | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 11 | L 32-48vs Middle Tennessee | 10 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 12 | L 16-40@ Western Kentucky | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 7-39vs Southern Miss | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 60 | 46 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 9 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
15%9 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
60tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%5 TFL60 tackles · 5 for loss · 9 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road6g | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 5.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dana Dimel
Pass share
43.0%
325 pass / 430 run
Plays / game
62.9
12 games
Team sack rate
10.4%
365 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2018
60 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at UTEP, 173 tackles — his college career is complete.
His career
He barely played early on. Then he did not come off the field.
Coaching lineage · 2014–2018
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Sean Kugler, Mike Price, and Dana Dimel. Multi-era developmental context.
