Nate Valcarcel: S · Northern Illinois · #9.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nate Valcarcel
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. A two-star recruit with four seasons on the field at Northern Illinois since. The first one came in 2024: All-MAC. One game to point at: 9 tackles and 1 sack against Miami (OH) — Week 13, 2024.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
53 tackles. 8 passes defended. 3 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.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Northern Illinois | 53 | 32 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 8 | 3 |
| 2023 | Northern Illinois | 47 | 17 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 3 |
| 2022 | Northern Illinois | 9 | 7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Northern Illinois | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 114 | 61 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 9 | 6 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 54-15vs Western Illinois | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 16-14@ No. 5 Notre Dame | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 20-23vs Buffalo | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-24@ NC State | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 34-20vs Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 7 | W 17-7@ Bowling Green | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 6-13vs Toledo | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | L 23-25@ Ball State | 8 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-28@ Western Michigan | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | |
| Wk 12 | W 29-16vs Akron | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 9-20@ Miami (OH) | 9 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 24-16vs Central Michigan | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
 Bowl | W 28-20vs Fresno State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 53 | 32 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3 | 8 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
15%8 pass breakupsInterceptions
3interceptionsTackle volume
53tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%2 TFL53 tackles · 2 for loss · 2 sacks · 8 pass breakups · 3 interceptions.
4 seasons under Thomas Hammock — 27-25 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| Road6g | 5.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Thomas Hammock
Pass share
40.1%
368 pass / 549 run
Plays / game
70.5
13 games
Team sack rate
4.4%
388 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #23 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Northern Illinois, 114 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2024) — the college career is complete.
Recruited as a two-star, and honored since.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC · 1ST TEAM
All-MAC 1st team (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2021–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under Thomas Hammock.
