Former defensive tackle at USC. 2024: 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 21 tackles.
6′4″ · 295 lb · La Vergne, TN
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
OT recruit
No. 1617 nationally · Signed with Vanderbilt
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former defensive tackle at USC. 2024: 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 21 tackles.
Nate Clifton
Wins his gap play after play. Nate Clifton has played for three head coaches across five seasons and two programs. The receipt: 4 tackles against Notre Dame — Week 14, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at USC, 114 tackles — his college career is complete.
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Clay Helton, Donte Williams, and Lincoln Riley. Multi-era developmental context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: qb hurries (23rd percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 2.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
46.0%
97 pass / 114 run
Plays / game
70.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.0%
102 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Three-star recruit. Now #155 at the position.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | USC | 21 | 13 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Vanderbilt | 30 | 12 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | Vanderbilt | 22 | 4 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Vanderbilt | 35 | 22 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2020 | Vanderbilt | 6 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 114 | 53 | 14.5 | 8.5 | 5 | 1 | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 9 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 27-20@ LSU | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 38-21vs Wisconsin | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-24@ Minnesota | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 30-33vs Penn State | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 28-29@ Maryland | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 42-20vs Rutgers | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-26@ Washington | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 19-13@ UCLA | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 35-49vs Notre Dame | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Total | 21 | 13 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 |
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
21 tackles. 2 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.
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Antonio Pule’s 2021 season.
Matches Antonio on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Aliki Vimahi's graduate season at Utah (2025).
Matches Aliki on
Player DNA