Kentucky · L 17-34
10 tackles
The other 7 games average 6 tackles. This one was 4 above.
Nicholas Rinaldi
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Fifth year in the same linebacker corps at Vanderbilt. A game that shows it: 10 tackles against Kentucky — Week 8, 2026.
52 tackles · 3 sacks
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
52 tackles. 5 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Nicholas Rinaldi vs NC State.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Vanderbilt | 52 | 26 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 5 | -- |
| 2025 | Vanderbilt | 47 | 20 | 7.0 | 3.5 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Vanderbilt | 52 | 36 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Vanderbilt | 20 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2022 | Vanderbilt | 3 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 174 | 91 | 18.0 | 12.5 | 6 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 8): 10 tackles, 1 pass breakup.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-9vs Austin Peay | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-26vs Delaware | 7 | 2 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 2 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 3 | W 35-31vs NC State | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 15-21@ Auburn | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-38@ No. 2 Georgia | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-52vs No. 9 Ole Miss | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-31vs Arkansas | 9 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 17-34@ No. 12 Kentucky | 10 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Total | 52 | 26 | 5.0 | 3.0 | — | 5 |
Oct. 24 · L 17-34 at Kentucky, play by play
10 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 11 for him; the box score credits 10.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, 3 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Vanderbilt’s defense played that day
Kentucky’s 8 drives: 2 stopped · 6 scored. While the game was within a score they held 2 of 6. His pbu came with Vanderbilt down 4.
9 tackles, including 1 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 6-yard loss on 3rd and 8. First quarter, down 14-0.
7 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 sack, 2 passes broken up, tied for 10th-most tackles for loss in FBS that week. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 8 for him; the box score credits 7.
Sacked the quarterback for a 10-yard loss on 3rd and 4. First quarter, tied 0-0.
6 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. His sack on 4th and 6 ended Austin Peay’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss on 4th and 6. Third quarter, up 15-9. Ended Austin Peay’s drive (downs).
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -12 to +27 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
52tackles this seasonTFL rate
10%5 TFLSack rate
6%3 sacksPD rate
10%5 pass breakups52 tackles · 5 for loss · 3 sacks.
5 seasons under Clark Lea — 27-31 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Road3g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 6.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 10.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Clark Lea
Pass share
51.0%
253 pass / 243 run
Plays / game
62.0
8 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
281 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
52 tackles in 8 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #23 of 76 SEC LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Clark Lea.
