Ben Nikkel: DB · Iowa State · #18.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ben Nikkel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Second year in the same secondary at Iowa State. A game that shows it: 8 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Ohio — Week 3, 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. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1 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.
FOX61 Oct 28
The Des Moines Register Oct 23
Arizona Daily Star Oct 22
Wide Right & Natty Lite Oct 16Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Iowa State | 40 | 23 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 |
| 2022 | Iowa State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 43 | 24 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 30-9vs Northern Iowa | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 3 | L 7-10@ Ohio | 8 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 34-27vs Oklahoma State | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 20-50@ No. 14 Oklahoma | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-14vs TCU | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 30-10@ Cincinnati | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 30-18@ Baylor | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-28vs No. 22 Kansas | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 45-13@ BYU | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 16-26vs No. 7 Texas | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 26-36vs Memphis | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 23 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
8%3 pass breakupsTackle volume
40tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%1 TFL40 tackles · 1 for loss · 3 pass breakups.
2 seasons under Matt Campbell — 11-14 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 3.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Pass share
50.8%
380 pass / 368 run
Plays / game
57.5
13 games
Team sack rate
3.2%
375 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, 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
Two seasons at Iowa State, 43 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2023
1 coachPlayed every college season under Matt Campbell.
