John Nelson: DT · BYU · #94.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
John Nelson
Wins the gap play after play. Fourth year in the BYU defensive front. On tape: 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Utah, Week 11, 2024.
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
23 tackles. 5 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2 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
2024 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 41-13vs Southern Illinois | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 18-15@ SMU | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 34-14@ Wyoming | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-9vs No. 13 Kansas State | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-28@ Baylor | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 41-19vs Arizona | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 38-35vs Oklahoma State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 22-21@ Utah | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 12 | L 13-17vs Kansas | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 23-28@ No. 21 Arizona State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 30-18vs Houston | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 23 | 12 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 5 |
Week 1 · 2024
W 41-13
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 3 tackles
Dominant 28-point win at home against Southern Illinois.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
9%2 TFLSack rate
4%1 sackHurry rate
13%3 hurries23 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 sack.
4 seasons under Kalani Sitake — 34-17 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 1.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Road5g | 2.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kalani Sitake
Pass share
45.8%
375 pass / 443 run
Plays / game
62.9
13 games
Team sack rate
4.4%
405 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #45 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at BYU, 65 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 38 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under Kalani Sitake.
