#42

Elijah Shelton

Senior linebacker for UNLV. 2023: 25 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.

LB · UNLV · Sr. · #42

6′2″ · 235 lb · Salt Lake City, UT

CFB Index 28 · #473 of 577 LBsHigh confidenceUNLV 2023 alumnus

The story

4 linebacker for UNLV. 2023: 25 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Mater Dei Catholic in 2017.

His career, year by year

Recruiting

2★

WR recruit

No. 3176 nationally · Signed with Mater Dei Catholic

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

How it ended

Five seasons at UNLV, 105 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

2017

Recruited2-star out of Mater Dei Catholic

2018

Signed with Utah State2-star out of Highland

2021

Entered the portal

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#3176 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2018–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2018–2023

3 coaches

2018–2019

Tony Sanchez

UNLV

2020

Marcus Arroyo

UNLV

era →

2022

Marcus Arroyo

UNLV

2023

Barry Odom

UNLV

era →

Played under 3 different head coaches: Tony Sanchez, Marcus Arroyo, and Barry Odom. Multi-era developmental context.

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2018Utah State11-2HC: Matt Wells · Balanced

2019Utah State7-6HC: Gary Andersen · Balanced

2020Utah State1-5HC: Frank Maile · Balanced, slow tempo

2022UNLV5-7HC: Marcus Arroyo · Balanced

2023UNLV9-5HC: Barry Odom · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

28Below cohort / limited sample #473 of 577?

High confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: passes defended (19th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Tackles for loss#904 / 2842 · 66th pct

3.5

Sacks#847 / 2842 · 62nd pct

1.0

Solo tackles#1416 / 2842 · 49th pct

Tackles#1598 / 2842 · 43rd pct

QB hurries#1486 / 2842 · 24th pct

Passes defended#1751 / 2842 · 19th pct

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 & context

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home5g	2.6	0.6	0.2	0.0
Road4g	3.0	0.1	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-73g	2.7	0.5	0.0	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	2.8	0.3	0.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Dan Mullen

Pass share

41.6%

87 pass / 122 run

Plays / game

69.7

3 games

Team sack rate

9.3%

108 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

28 · #473 of 577 LBs

Two-star recruit. Now #473 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	UNLV	25	15	3.5	1.0	--	--	--
2022	UNLV	39	24	3.0	2.0	--	--	--
2020	Utah State	15	9	3.5	2.0	1	--	--
2019	Utah State	23	8	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
2018	Utah State	3	--	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
Career		105	56	10.0	5.0	1	--	--

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	Note
Wk 3	W 40-37vs Vanderbilt	3	1	1.5	0.0	—
Wk 7	W 45-27@ Nevada	2	2	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 9	L 24-31@ Fresno State	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 10	W 56-14@ New Mexico	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 11	W 34-14vs Wyoming	2	2	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 12	W 31-27@ Air Force	8	4	0.5	0.0	—	Season-high 8 tackles
Wk 13	L 31-37vs San José State	1	0	0.5	0.0	—
Wk 14	L 20-44vs Boise State	4	3	0.0	0.0	—
Bowl	L 36-49vs Kansas	3	1	0.0	0.0	—
Total		25	15	3.5	1.0	—

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Elijah Shelton

2017

2018

2021

2023 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Rotational

Career stats

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Balanced Linebacker

Players who play like Elijah Shelton