Phalen Sanford: DB · Nebraska · #37.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Phalen Sanford
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for three head coaches in three seasons at Nebraska. A game that shows it: 9 tackles against Iowa — Week 13, 2023.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
40 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0.5 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 this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 10-13@ Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 14-36@ No. 22 Colorado | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 35-11vs Northern Illinois | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 28-14vs Louisiana Tech | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-45vs No. 2 Michigan | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 20-7@ Illinois | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 17-9vs Northwestern | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-14vs Purdue | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 17-20@ Michigan State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 17-24@ Wisconsin | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 10-13vs No. 20 Iowa | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Total | 40 | 22 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%2 pass breakupsTackle volume
40tackles this seasonTFL rate
1%0 TFL40 tackles · 0.5 for loss · 2 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 4.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Rhule
Pass share
35.7%
261 pass / 471 run
Plays / game
61.0
12 games
Team sack rate
10.1%
288 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2023
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Three seasons at Nebraska, 55 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Scott Frost, Mickey Joseph, and Matt Rhule. Multi-era developmental context.
