Sam Hammond: DE · Nevada · #98.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Sam Hammond
Turns pressure into sacks — pressures become finishes. The five seasons at Nevada span two head coaches: Jay Norvell and Vai Taua. The first one came in 2020: All-Mountain West. On tape: 11 tackles against Air Force, Week 12, 2021.
Play style
Turns pressure into sacks — when he gets there, he finishes.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
32 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 7.5 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.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 22-17@ California | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-10vs Idaho State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-38@ Kansas State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 41-31@ Boise State | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 55-28vs New Mexico State | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 7 | W 34-17vs Hawai'i | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 51-20vs UNLV | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 27-24vs San José State | 4 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 21-23@ San Diego State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 39-41vs Air Force | 11 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 52-10@ Colorado State | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 24 | 7.5 | 5.5 | — | 1 |
Week 13 · 2021
W 52-10
1.5 sacks · 1.5 tackles for loss · 3 tackles
Dominant 42-point win on the road against Colorado State.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
16%6 sacksTFL rate
24%8 TFLHurry rate
6%2 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
73%6 of 8 pressures34 tackles · 8 for loss · 5.5 sacks.
5 seasons under Jay Norvell — 33-27 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 4.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Vai Taua
Pass share
63.7%
571 pass / 326 run
Plays / game
74.8
12 games
Team sack rate
6.4%
624 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-heavy.
Player standing · 2021
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Five seasons at Nevada, 12 sacks — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST · 2ND TEAM
All-Mountain West 2nd team (2020)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Jay Norvell.
