Isaiah Nichols: DL · Purdue · #93.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Isaiah Nichols
Wins the gap play after play. The six seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Chad Morris, Sam Pittman and Ryan Walters. A game that shows it: 5 tackles against Fresno State — Week 1, 2023.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
20 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 3 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.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 10 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 35-39vs Fresno State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 24-17@ Virginia Tech | 4 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 20-35vs Syracuse | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 17-38vs Wisconsin | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 44-19vs Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 14-20@ Iowa | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 7-41vs No. 3 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 13-41@ No. 2 Michigan | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 15-23@ Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 35-31vs Indiana | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 14 | 3.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Week 2 · 2023
W 24-17
1 sack · 2 tackles for loss · 4 tackles
A close one, won by 7 on the road.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
15%3 TFLSack rate
5%1 sackHurry rate
10%2 hurries20 tackles · 3 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Walters
Pass share
46.2%
392 pass / 456 run
Plays / game
70.7
12 games
Team sack rate
5.4%
410 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #353 at the position.
How it ended
Six seasons, at Arkansas and Purdue, 4 sacks — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2018–2023
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Chad Morris, Sam Pittman and Ryan Walters.
