Former linebacker at Iowa. 2020: 77 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss.
6′4″ · 233 lb · Sycamore, IL
Recruiting
OLB recruit
No. 942 nationally · Signed with Iowa
Statement game17 tackles · 1 TFLat Penn State (FBS) · W 41-21
Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former linebacker at Iowa. 2020: 77 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss.
Nick Niemann
He has spent four seasons in the Iowa linebacker corps. In 2020 the league put his name on paper for the first time: All-Big Ten. One game to point at: 17 tackles, 1 TFL against Penn State — Week 12, 2020.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Iowa, 157 tackles — drafted at #185 overall by Los Angeles.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN
All-Big Ten mention (2020)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2020
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Kirk Ferentz.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
Los AngelesEntering 6th NFL season
Season context · Team result + system
4 seasons under Kirk Ferentz — 33-14 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: tackles (97th percentile). Strength: solo tackles (93rd percentile). Concern: passes defended (21st percentile).
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 · Per-game
2020 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 9.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 10.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 8+8g | 9.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2020
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 15 · 2020
W 28–7
vs Wisconsin
0 TFL · 8 TOT · 3 SOLO
Dominant 21-point win at home against Wisconsin.
With T. Taylor — 42 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 49 LONG · I. Smith-Marsette — -2 rush yds (1 car)
Game log · Week-by-week
2020 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 8 | L 20-24@ Purdue | 8 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 20-21vs Northwestern | 10 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 49-7vs Michigan State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 35-7@ Minnesota | 7 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 41-21@ Penn State | 17 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 17 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 26-20vs Nebraska | 12 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 35-21@ Illinois | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 15 | W 28-7vs Wisconsin | 8 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 77 | 37 | 2.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
77 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2.5 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.