Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 54-14vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-21@ Kansas | 8 | 8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Total | 11 | 8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
#5
Nicholas Rodriguez
Junior linebacker for Missouri. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
6′0″ · 225 lb · Miami, FL · St. Thomas Aquinas
CFB Index 62 · #186 of 583 LBsHigh confidenceReturning to Missouri for 2026
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.
The numbers
11
tackles · 2026
1 TFL · 1 sacks
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sacks, at Kansas
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 linebacker for Missouri. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Missouri in 2024.
Nicholas Rodriguez
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. This is his third year in the same linebacker corps at Missouri. One game to point at: 8 tackles, 1 sacks against Kansas — Week 2, 2026.
11 TACKLES · 1 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
20247 games
- Signed with Missouri3-star out of St. Thomas Aquinas
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Missouri
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Missouri
Played his entire career under Eli Drinkwitz.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Eli Drinkwitz — 20-8 over that span.
2024Missouri10-3HC: Eli Drinkwitz · Run-leaning
2025Missouri8-5HC: Eli Drinkwitz · Run-heavy
2026Missouri2-0HC: Eli Drinkwitz · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
High confidenceBreakout
Elite: sacks (87th percentile). Concern: tackles (27th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 5.5 TKL/g, 0.5 TFL/g, 0.5 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Eli Drinkwitz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Part-time starter
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
62 · #186 of 583 LBs
Three-star recruit. Now #186 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #26 of 76 SEC LBs
How the All-SEC estimate is computed
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 38–21
at Kansas
8 TOT · 8 SOLO · 1 SACKS
With A. Simmons — 292 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 86.4 · 8 rush yds (2 car) · B. Reus — 50 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 66 LONG
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Missouri
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Missouri
Returning around him
- 6 Missouri players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +3 net (30 in / 27 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Missouri · Last season: 8-5 (AP #25) · Talent rank #19 · 2026 recruiting class #34
DNA match
Player DNA
Coverage 'Backer
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
LB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jack Fries’s 2025 season.
Matches Jack on
Tackle volume
Weight
Differs from Jack on
Height (lower)
Class year (lower)
PD rate (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Quinton Hammonds's sophomore season at North Texas (2025).
Matches Quinton on
Tackle volume
TFL rate
Height
Differs from Quinton on
PD rate (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Nicholas Rodriguez
Background
2025: Played in all 13 games to start the season and drew his first career start against UMass while adding a pair of starts at the end of the season against Arkansas and Virginia … Recorded 61 total tackles (27 solo), including 1.5 sacks, 4.0 TFL and a team-leading seven pass breakups on the sea...
The linebacker corps · Missouri
- Robert Woodyard Jr.67 tackles · 2025
- #5Nicholas Rodriguez61 tackles · 2025
- #6Jeremiah Beasley19 tackles · 2025
- #9Dante McClellan7 tackles · 2025
- #17Brian Huff5 tackles · 2025
6 more on the roster · Missouri team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology