“Nestor and Drzewiecki maybe?”
John Nestor
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Kirk Ferentz and P.J. Fleck. The first career honor came in 2025: Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. One game to point at: 11 tackles against Iowa — Week 8, 2026.
35 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
35 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named John Nestor vs Mississippi State.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 59-7vs Eastern Illinois | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-38vs Mississippi State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-7vs Akron | 8 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | W 27-24@ Washington | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-14vs Michigan | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-41@ Purdue | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 13-10vs No. 15 Iowa | 11 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 9 | L 16-23@ No. 4 Indiana | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 21 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Oct. 31 · L 16-23 at Indiana, play by play
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, in the 7 games with play by play.
How Minnesota’s defense played that day
Indiana’s 14 drives: 9 stopped (2 takeaways) · 5 scored. While the game was within a score they held 9 of 14. His hurry came with Minnesota down 4.
11 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 10 of his 11, sacks included.
4 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles, including 1 interception. His interception ended Washington’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted. Third quarter, up 24-10. Ended Washington’s drive (int).
8 tackles, including 2 more for loss, 2 passes broken up, tied for 4th-most passes broken up in FBS that week. His pass breakup on 4th and 38 ended Akron’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 9 for him; the box score credits 8.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 38. Second quarter, up 17-0. Ended Akron’s drive (downs).
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +24 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
6%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
35tackles this seasonTFL rate
14%5 TFL35 tackles · 5 for loss · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 5.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 7.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
P.J. Fleck
Pass share
54.3%
269 pass / 226 run
Plays / game
61.9
8 games
Team sack rate
3.5%
289 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #133 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #1 of 77 Big Ten DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 49% of returning players who ranked #1–3 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 43–54%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 28 games over four seasons.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Kirk Ferentz and P.J. Fleck.
