Senior defensive end on Nevada's 2025 roster.
6′5″ · 221 lb · Minden, NV
The numbers
sacks · 2025
6 tackles
Best game: 2 tackles, at Penn State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive end on Nevada's 2025 roster.
Chris Smalley
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Four seasons at Nevada, two different head coaches: Ken Wilson and Jeff Choate. The receipt on tape: 2 tackles against Fresno State, Week 6, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Ken Wilson → Jeff Choate. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 5 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Choate
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2023
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 5 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 11-46@ Penn State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 17-20@ Fresno State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 10-44vs San Diego State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 22-24@ New Mexico | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 14-51@ Utah State | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Nevada
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive end · Nevada
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Nevada · Last season: 3-9 · Talent rank #118 · 2026 recruiting class #98
Player DNA
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
His 2023 production profile sits closest to Chris Smalley’s 2022 season.
Matches Chris on
Differs from Chris on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Cam Riley's sophomore season at Auburn (2021).
Matches Cam on
Player DNA