Nicholas Ross: S · App State · #4.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nicholas Ross
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. The five seasons at App State span two head coaches: Eli Drinkwitz and Shawn Clark. One game to point at: 12 tackles against Gardner-Webb — Week 1, 2023.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
101 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 3.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 14 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-24vs Gardner-Webb | 12 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 34-40@ No. 17 North Carolina | 9 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 43-28vs East Carolina | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-22@ Wyoming | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 41-40@ UL Monroe | 10 | 5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 24-27vs Coastal Carolina | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 21-28@ Old Dominion | 10 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 48-38vs Southern Miss | 8 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-9vs Marshall | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-14@ Georgia State | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 26-23@ No. 18 James Madison | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 55-27vs Georgia Southern | 7 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 23-49@ Troy | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 13-9vs Miami (OH) | 10 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 101 | 43 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 4 |
Bowl · 2023
W 13-9
vs Miami (OH) · neutral site
10 tackles · 1 pass breakup · 2 solo tackles
A close one, won by 4 at a neutral site.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
4%4 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
101tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%4 TFL101 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1.5 sacks · 4 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 14 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 6.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Road7g | 7.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 7.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 7.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Shawn Clark
Pass share
47.3%
470 pass / 523 run
Plays / game
70.9
14 games
Team sack rate
3.9%
491 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2023
101 tackles in 14 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #50 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at App State, 252 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 55 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Eli Drinkwitz → Shawn Clark. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
