Nate Clifton: DT · USC · #99.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nate Clifton
Wins the gap play after play. Played for three head coaches across five seasons and two programs. A game that shows it: 4 tackles against Notre Dame — Week 14, 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
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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
247Sports Nov 2
USA Today Nov 1
On3 Oct 21
Yahoo Sports Oct 16Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| 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
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 27-20vs No. 13 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 No. 4 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 No. 5 Notre Dame | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Total | 21 | 13 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 |
Week 13 · 2024
W 19-13
at UCLA
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 2 tackles
A close one, won by 6 on the road.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
10%2 TFLSack rate
5%1 sackHurry rate
0%0 hurries21 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 sack.
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 |
| Road4g | 2.2 | 0.4 | 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
59.9%
533 pass / 357 run
Plays / game
68.5
13 games
Team sack rate
2.5%
563 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-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 #155 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Vanderbilt and USC, 114 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 46 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2024
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Derek Mason, Clark Lea and Lincoln Riley.
