Senior defensive back on Michigan State's 2025 roster.
6′2″ · 186 lb · Gastonia, NC
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
S recruit
No. 286 nationally · Signed with North Carolina
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Michigan State's 2025 roster.
Dontavius Nash
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Dontavius Nash has played for three head coaches across five seasons and three programs. The receipt: 5 tackles, 1 TFL against Indiana — Week 8, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
3 programs, one constant: he played.
The role got bigger.
The snaps went the other way.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mel Tucker → Jonathan Smith. 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: solo tackles (8th 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-72g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2024
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Michigan State | 14 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | East Carolina | 22 | 14 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | East Carolina | 34 | 21 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | North Carolina | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | North Carolina | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 74 | 43 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 5 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 6 | L 27-38@ Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 13-38vs UCLA | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 13-38@ Indiana | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 20-31vs Michigan | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 38-28vs Maryland | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Michigan State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Michigan State
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Michigan State · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #61 · 2026 recruiting class #45
Player DNA
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Malcolm Bell’s 2024 season.
Matches Malcolm on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Jalani Williams's senior season at Kent State (2023).
Matches Jalani on
Player DNA