Patrick Nelson: DB · SMU · #2.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Patrick Nelson
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Lovie Smith and Sonny Dykes. A game that shows it: 10 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss against Tulane — Week 14, 2019.
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
81 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 18.5 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
2019 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 37-30@ Arkansas State | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-27vs North Texas | 7 | 4 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 3 | W 47-17vs Texas State | 7 | 6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | — | 1 | 3 sacks |
| Wk 4 | W 41-38@ No. 25 TCU | 7 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 48-21@ South Florida | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 43-37vs Tulsa | 9 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 45-21vs Temple | 7 | 6 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 9 | W 34-31@ Houston | 7 | 5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | — | 0 | 2.5 sacks |
| Wk 10 | L 48-54@ No. 24 Memphis | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 59-51vs East Carolina | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 28-35@ Navy | 7 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 37-20vs Tulane | 10 | 8 | 3.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
 Bowl | L 28-52@ Florida Atlantic | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 81 | 58 | 18.5 | 12.5 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
2%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
81tackles this seasonTFL rate
23%18 TFL81 tackles · 18.5 for loss · 12.5 sacks · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2019 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 7.8 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Road7g | 4.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.7 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 6.8 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Sonny Dykes
Pass share
48.7%
502 pass / 529 run
Plays / game
79.3
13 games
Team sack rate
3.0%
535 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2019
81 tackles in 13 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
How it ended
Four seasons, at Illinois and SMU, 280 tackles — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2014–2019
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Tim Beckman, Bill Cubit, Lovie Smith and Sonny Dykes.
