Montae Nicholson: S · Michigan State · #9.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Montae Nicholson
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Second year in the Michigan State secondary. On tape: 17 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against BYU, Week 6, 2016.
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
86 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 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.
The Detroit News Oct 27
Detroit Free Press Oct 24
Lansing State Journal Oct 23Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Michigan State | 86 | 39 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2015 | Michigan State | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 |
| Career | 86 | 39 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2016 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-13vs Furman | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 3 | W 36-28@ No. 18 Notre Dame | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 6-30vs No. 11 Wisconsin | 10 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 21-24@ Indiana | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 14-31vs BYU | 17 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 17 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 40-54vs Northwestern | 13 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 17-28@ Maryland | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 23-32vs No. 2 Michigan | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 49-0vs Rutgers | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 16-17vs No. 2 Ohio State | 13 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 12-45@ No. 8 Penn State | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 86 | 39 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
2%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
86tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%2 TFL86 tackles · 2 for loss · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
2 seasons under Mark Dantonio, all run-leaning offenses — 15-11 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2016 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 9.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road4g | 4.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 9.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 6.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mark Dantonio
Pass share
44.5%
369 pass / 461 run
Plays / game
69.2
12 games
Team sack rate
6.2%
402 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2016
86 tackles in 11 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive back who plays every week.
How it ended
Two seasons at Michigan State, 86 tackles — drafted at #123 overall by the Washington Redskins.
Coaching lineage · 2014–2016
1 coachPlayed every college season under Mark Dantonio.
Next stop · NFL
Washington RedskinsEntering 10th NFL season
Washington RedskinsEntering 10th NFL season
