Did not play in Syracuse’s last 2 games.
Steven Angeli started the last one, W 30-27 vs No. 19 SMU, Oct 31.
Syracuse’s next game: vs Clemson, Sat Nov 7, 12:00 p.m. ET · ESPN2
California · L 18-21
No pass attempts.
Pittsburgh · L 13-27
No pass attempts.
UConn · W 42-41
No pass attempts.
North Carolina · W 31-30
No pass attempts.
SMU · W 30-27
No pass attempts.
Nelson has pass attempts in 3 of Syracuse’s 8 games: none in the other 5.
Dashed line: 300 yards.
Syracuse is 4-4.
10 stories in the last 30 days, from 6 outlets.
Syracuse football: QB Amari Odom and QB Malachi Nelson undergo surgery
Nunes Magician +2 Oct 23
The four seasons span four programs and four head coaches: Lincoln Riley, Spencer Danielson, Scotty Walden and Fran Brown. One game to point at: 315 passing yards and 2 passing TD against Louisville — Week 7, 2026.
532 passing yards · 3 passing TD · 19 rushing yards
Play style
Operates within the system without forcing anything.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 6 outlets
Syracuse football: QB Amari Odom and QB Malachi Nelson undergo surgery
Nunes Magician +2 Oct 23 · 3 outlets
Locked On +1Syracuse football: QB Malachi Nelson expected to start at VirginaOct 9
Syracuse.comSyracuse football expected to start Malachi Nelson at QB against UVA after injury to Amari Odom (report)Oct 9Locked OnMalachi Nelson Expected to start For Syracuse Football | What's wrong with Amari Odom?Oct 10
RotoBallerMalachi Nelson Set to Start Again for Syracuse - College Football News | Fantasy CFBOct 16from 7 outlets
Syracuse football: QB Amari Odom and QB Malachi Nelson undergo surgery
Nunes Magician +2 Oct 23 · 3 outlets
Locked On +1Syracuse football: QB Malachi Nelson expected to start at VirginaOct 9
On3Syracuse QB competition: Breaking down Steve Angeli, Malachi Nelson, Amari Odom resumes to play in 2026Aug 6
Yahoo SportsWill New Syracuse QB Malachi Nelson See Action in Next Contest?Sep 21Syracuse.comSyracuse football expected to start Malachi Nelson at QB against UVA after injury to Amari Odom (report)Oct 9Locked OnMalachi Nelson Expected to start For Syracuse Football | What's wrong with Amari Odom?Oct 10Syracuse.comLocked On +1Yahoo SportsOn3Each week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
Syracuse12 stories2026 to nowMost about: starting job and depth chart.
Nunes Magician +2Syracuse football: QB Amari Odom and QB Malachi Nelson undergo surgeryOct 23Locked On +1Syracuse football: QB Malachi Nelson expected to start at VirginaOct 9On3Syracuse QB competition: Breaking down Steve Angeli, Malachi Nelson, Amari Odom resumes to play in 2026Aug 6Yahoo SportsWill New Syracuse QB Malachi Nelson See Action in Next Contest?Sep 21Syracuse.comSyracuse football expected to start Malachi Nelson at QB against UVA after injury to Amari Odom (report)Oct 9
UTEP4 stories2025Most about: in his words, starting job and depth chart.
Locked OnWhat!? Malachi Nelson Next starting QB for Syracuse Football? Why That's unlikelyJan 20Locked OnFran Brown reveals Malachi Nelson Is pushing Steve Angeli For Syracuse Football QB1May 15On3UTEP quarterback Malachi Nelson makes surprising decision on futureJun 19
Boise State2024not tracked
USC2023not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Syracuse | 42 | 70 | 60.0% | 532 | 7.6 | 3 | 2 | 132.3 | 51 |
| 2025 | UTEP | 104 | 190 | 54.7% | 1,163 | 6.1 | 8 | 9 | 110.6 | 24 |
| 2024 | Boise State | 12 | 17 | 70.6% | 128 | 7.5 | 0 | 1 | 122.1 | -- |
| 2023 | USC | 1 | 3 | 33.3% | -- | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 33.3 | -- |
| Career | 159 | 280 | 56.8% | 1,823 | 6.5 | 11 | 12 | 115.9 | 31 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Syracuse | 12 | −14 | −1.2 | 0 | 9 |
| 2025 | UTEP | 23 | −13 | −0.6 | 0 | 10 |
| 2024 | Boise State | 2 | −11 | −5.5 | 0 | -- |
| 2023 | USC | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 37 | −38 | −1.0 | 0 | 10 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | Grade | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | SK | RUSH | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 66-3vs New Hampshire | Came on in Q4 | 0/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | |
| Wk 6 | L 25-28@ Virginia | Solid | 16/29 | 217 | 1 | 0 | 7.5 | 84.8 | 0 | 19 | |
| Wk 7 | L 26-34vs Louisville | Shaky | 26/39 | 315 | 2 | 2 | 8.1 | 50.8 | 5 | -33 | Season-high 315 yds |
| Total | 42/70 | 532 | 3 | 2 | 7.6 | — | 5 | -14 |
26 of 39 for 315 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He was 4 of 14 on third and fourth down.
65-yard completion to Umari Hatcher. First quarter, tied 0-0.
Intercepted. Third quarter, down 28-23. Picked off by Louisville’s Kaleb Beasley.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, down 28-26. Picked off by Louisville’s Cameron White.
Sacked for a 8-yard loss on 4th and 21. Fourth quarter, down 34-26. Turnover on downs.
Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
16 of 29 for 217 yards and a touchdown.
Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.
0 of 2 for 0 yards.
Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 6 · 2026
L 25-28
at Virginia
217 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 84.8 · 19 rush yds (6 car)
With J. Gregg — -14 rush yds (1 car) · U. Hatcher — 8 rec · 126 yds · 1 TD
The plays that mattered most
| Stat | His | Nation | ACC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 532 | 154th of 370 | 20th of 48 |
| Yards an attempt | 7.6 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Touchdown passes | 3 | T-151st of 370 | T-19th of 48 |
| Passer rating | 132.3 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Completion percentage | 60.0 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Rushing yards | -14 | T-344th of 370 | T-43rd of 48 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 0 | — | — |
Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game. He has 70 attempts of the 80 needed after 8 games, so the rates are not ranked.
Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.
Hatcher and Bacheyie saw 37 of the 70 charted throws.
| Receiver | Targets, caught | Targets | Catches | Yards | Throw depth | After catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Umari Hatcher | 27 | 20 | 342 | 14.3 | 6.3 | |
| Daunte Bacheyie | 10 | 7 | 73 | 10.1 | 3.4 | |
| Calvin Russell III | 8 | 6 | 53 | 4.2 | 6.7 | |
| Noah Meyers | 3 | 2 | 39 | 8.7 | 8.0 | |
| David Clement | 3 | 2 | 2 | -4.7 | 7.0 | |
| 11 others | 15 | 5 | 23 | 8.9 | 2.2 | |
| No receiver charted | 4 | Both interceptions are among these | ||||
Play by play: 70 passes, 42 caught, 532 yards. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
6.29104 of 185 QBsSack rate
6.7%126 of 185 QBsSacked on 6.7% of dropbacks (126 of 185) and Adjusted ANY/A trails the field (104 of 185).
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 60.0% completion on 70 attempts · 38% completion on 13 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 158 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| Road1g | 217 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 177 | 1.0 | 5.2 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Fran Brown
Pass share
47.4%
300 pass / 333 run
Plays / game
79.1
8 games
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
| Malachi Nelson | Threw in 3 of 8 games · 42 of 70, 532 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT · 7.6 yards an attempt on 70 attempts · ran for -14 yds, 0 TD |
| Steven Angeli | Threw in 5 of 8 games · 98 of 171, 1,186 yds, 7 TD, 5 INT · 6.9 yards an attempt on 171 attempts · ran for -8 yds, 1 TD |
| Amari Odom | Threw in 3 of 8 games · 36 of 47, 391 yds, 6 TD, 2 INT · 8.3 yards an attempt on 47 attempts · ran for 2 yds, 1 TD |
| Danny Lauter | Threw in 2 of 8 games · 5 of 11, 74 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT · 6.7 yards an attempt on 11 attempts · ran for -7 yds, 0 TD |
Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.
Who threw in each quarter. Blue: Malachi Nelson. Gray: Steven Angeli, Amari Odom, Danny Lauter. From the play by play.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer passes and runs a game than most FBS quarterbacks who play every week.
2026 is in progress.
The role got bigger.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 4 schools: Lincoln Riley, Spencer Danielson, Scotty Walden and Fran Brown.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Syracuse
