Nyjalik Kelly is an edge rusher who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at UCF.
Kelly holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Played for three head coaches across four seasons and two programs. A game that shows it: 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Cincinnati — Week 7, 2025.
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
45 tackles. 3 passes defended. 1 interception. 7.5 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.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 17-10vs Jacksonville State | 3 | 3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 68-7vs North Carolina A&T | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 34-9vs North Carolina | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 20-34@ Kansas State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 20-27vs Kansas | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 11-20@ Cincinnati | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 45-13vs West Virginia | 8 | 5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 10 | L 3-30@ Baylor | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 27-30vs Houston | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 9-48@ No. 8 Texas Tech | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 17-14vs Oklahoma State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 21-41@ No. 11 BYU | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 35 | 7.5 | 2.0 | 1 | 3 |
Week 8 · 2025
W 45-13
1 sack · 1.5 tackles for loss · 8 tackles
Dominant 32-point win at home against West Virginia.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
4%2 sacksTFL rate
17%8 TFLHurry rate
18%8 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
20%2 of 10 pressures45 tackles · 7.5 for loss · 2 sacks · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 3.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scott Frost
Pass share
51.7%
403 pass / 377 run
Plays / game
65.0
12 games
Team sack rate
4.9%
429 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
45 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #113 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #3 of 7 Big 12 EDGEs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 49% of returning players who ranked #1–3 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 43–54%).
A stat line in 35 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Mario Cristobal, Gus Malzahn and Scott Frost.
