Nile Sykes: DL · Indiana · #35.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nile Sykes
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Played for two head coaches in two seasons at Indiana. A game that shows it: 4 tackles against Penn State — Week 8, 2018.
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
25 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 4 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.
The Daily Hoosier Oct 28
The Herald-Times Oct 21
USA Today Oct 17Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-28@ Florida International | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 20-16vs Virginia | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 21-35vs No. 24 Michigan State | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-17@ Rutgers | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 26-49@ No. 3 Ohio State | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 16-42vs Iowa | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 28-33vs No. 18 Penn State | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 31-38@ Minnesota | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 34-32vs Maryland | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 20-31@ No. 4 Michigan | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 21-28vs Purdue | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 13 | 4.0 | 3.0 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
16%4 TFLSack rate
12%3 sacksHurry rate
12%3 hurries25 tackles · 4 for loss · 3 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tom Allen
Pass share
53.1%
480 pass / 424 run
Plays / game
75.3
12 games
Team sack rate
5.1%
530 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2018
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
How it ended
Two seasons at Indiana, 8 sacks — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2014–2018
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Kevin Wilson → Tom Allen. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
