Jalen Nailor

#8 · WR · So. · Michigan State6′0″ · 185 lb · Palmdale, CA · Bishop Gorman

Jalen Nailor: WR · Michigan State · #8.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Tyler ScottCincinnati · 2021 · 68% season match
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Marvin MimsOklahoma · 2022 · 67% season match
Ryan WilliamsAlabama · 2024 · 66% season match
Ladd McConkeyGeorgia · 2021 · 65% season match

Jalen Nailor

WR · Michigan State · So · #8

Beats you over the top. Played for two head coaches at Michigan State: Mark Dantonio and Mel Tucker. The first one came in 2021: Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. A game that shows it: 221 receiving yards and 5 receptions against Rutgers — Week 6, 2021.

Style of play

Play style

Stretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Michigan State in the news

Spartan Stadium renovation plans evolvingThe Detroit News Oct 27
Oregon hires Jay Johnson as OCOct 27
Milvojevic, Patterson out for UCLA gameDetroit Free Press Oct 24
$10M donation to MSU athleticsLansing State Journal Oct 23

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2021	Michigan State	37	695	18.8	6	65
2020	Michigan State	26	515	19.8	4	75
2019	Michigan State	15	106	7.1	0	23
2018	Michigan State	8	138	17.2	2	48
Career		86	1,454	16.9	12	75

Season	Team
2021	Michigan State	1	−3	81	--
2020	Michigan State	2	11	21	18
2019	Michigan State	5	27	77	17
2018	Michigan State	10	126	--	14
Career		18	161	179	49

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 8 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 38-21@ Northwestern	2	20	10.0	0	13
Wk 2	W 42-14vs Youngstown State	4	39	9.8	1	16
Wk 3	W 38-17@ No. 24 Miami	4	82	20.5	2	39	2 TD catches
Wk 4	W 23-20vs Nebraska	—	—	—	—	—
Wk 5	W 48-31vs Western Kentucky	8	128	16.0	0	43
Wk 6	W 31-13@ Rutgers	5	221	44.2	3	65	Season-high 221 yds
Wk 7	W 20-15@ Indiana	4	22	5.5	0	11
Wk 9	W 37-33vs No. 6 Michigan	4	75	18.8	0	40
Total		31	587	18.9	6	65

Signature game

Week 6 · 2021

W 31-13

at Rutgers

5 rec · 221 yds · 3 TD

With P. Thorne — 339 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 94.4 · K. Walker — 233 rush yds (29 car) · 1 TD · 1 rec · 13 yds

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 6 · Rutgers · 3rd and 5 · Q2 · EPA +6.39Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 63 yds for a TD, (Matt Coghlin KICK)
Week 6 · Rutgers · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +5.24Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 65 yds for a TD, (Matt Coghlin KICK)
Week 6 · Rutgers · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +5.05Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 63 yds for a TD, (Matt Coghlin KICK)
Week 9 · Michigan · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA +3.38Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 40 yds to the Mich 8 for a
Week 5 · Western Kentucky · 2nd and 7 · Q2 · EPA +3.25Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 43 yds to the WKent 22 for a
Week 3 · Miami · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +3.14Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 39 yds for a TD (Matt Coghlin KICK)

4 more plays

Week 1 · Northwestern · 3rd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.00Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 13 yds to the Nwest 39 for a
Week 1 · Pittsburgh · 4th and 5 · Q3 · EPA +2.95Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 9 yds to the 50 yard line for a
Week 6 · Rutgers · 2nd and 13 · Q1 · EPA +2.86Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 17 yds to the Rutgr 47 for a
Week 2 · Youngstown State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.57Payton Thorne pass complete to Jalen Nailor for 16 yds for a TD (Matt Coghlin KICK)

Teams and coaches

2018Michigan State7-6HC: Mark Dantonio · Balanced

2019Michigan State7-6HC: Mark Dantonio · Balanced

2020Michigan State2-5HC: Mel Tucker · Balanced

2021Michigan State11-2HC: Mel Tucker · Run-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 59 (#122 of 468). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2021 season

59Quality starter #122 of 468 · 2021?

12 metrics · season cumulative

2021 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: yards / catch (95th percentile). Strength: yards / catch (94th percentile). Concern: catch rate (15th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#33 / 655 · 95th pct

18.9

TD rate#139 / 655 · 79th pct

10.2%

Explosive rate#242 / 655 · 63rd pct

15.3%

EPA / target#252 / 655 · 62nd pct

0.74

Catch rate#557 / 655 · 15th pct

62.7%

Box-score rates (7)

Yards / catch#32 / 557 · 94th pct

18.8

Rec TDs#71 / 557 · 84th pct

Rec yards#102 / 557 · 82nd pct

695

Long catch#122 / 557 · 78th pct

Receptions#196 / 557 · 64th pct

Rush TDs#57 / 273 · 40th pct

Rush yards#251 / 273 · 8th pct

-3

Season trend

EPA / target— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Explosive rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Catch rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

TD rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Yards / catch— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2021. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 8 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home4g	4.0	60.5	14.9	0.2
Road4g	3.8	86.2	20.1	1.2

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	3.9	73.1	17.7	0.9
Weeks 8+1g	4.0	75.0	18.8	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2021 season

Head Coach

Mel Tucker

Pass share

46.1%

399 pass / 467 run

Plays / game

72.2

12 games

Team sack rate

4.9%

429 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

37 catches and 1 carry in 8 games

About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

59 · #122 of 468 WRs · 2021

Three-star recruit. Now #122 at the position.

Jalen Nailor

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Michigan State in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

37 catches and 1 carry in 8 games

Four seasons at Michigan State, drafted

2018 6 games

2022