Brian Nelson II
The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Eric Morris and Dave Doeren. A game that shows it: 9 tackles against Louisville — Week 5, 2026.
35 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Gets targeted often and tackles in space.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
35 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | NC State | 35 | 29 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- |
| 2025 | NC State | 29 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6 | -- |
| 2024 | North Texas | 53 | 45 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 4 |
| 2023 | North Texas | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- |
| Career | 123 | 99 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 15 | 4 |
Last game (Wk 9): 4 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 8-34@ Virginia | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 73-0vs Richmond | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 31-35@ Vanderbilt | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 41-31vs App State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 31-28vs Louisville | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 14-38vs Wake Forest | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 28-31@ Stanford | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-10vs California | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 29 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 |
Oct. 31 · W 31-10 vs California, play by play
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 3 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How NC State’s defense played that day
California’s 13 drives: 11 stopped (1 takeaway) · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 8 of 9.
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 3 of his 4, sacks included.
9 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 6 for him; the box score credits 5.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 1 of his 2, sacks included.
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 5 · 2026
W 31-28
vs Louisville
9 tackles · 1 pass breakup · 7 solo tackles
Edged out Louisville at home in a shootout.
Ratings of the games shown run from -11 to +12 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
9%3 pass breakupsTackle volume
35tackles this season35 tackles · 3 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dave Doeren
Pass share
47.0%
258 pass / 291 run
Plays / game
68.6
8 games
Team sack rate
4.5%
288 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #278 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #13 of 19 ACC CBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 33 games over four seasons.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Eric Morris and Dave Doeren.
