Rodney Nelson

RB · R-Jr. · Miami (OH)5′8″ · 195 lb · Owings, MD · Franklin

Rushing yards43695th of 278 running backs Last gameL 31–34vs Buffalo · Nov 3

Nextvs OhioTue Nov 10 · 7 pm ET

Worth knowing

Rodney Nelson has rushed for a touchdown in 3 straight games.
Rodney Nelson has 60.8 rushing yards a game at home, 33 on the road.

Every carry this season

102030405058

leftmiddleright

a carry, up for a gain and down for a lossa touchdown

Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of his carries with a spot in the play text: left 20, middle 26, right 16. His longest went for 58 yards.

Rodney Nelson

RB · Miami (OH)

Filling the Shoesas of Nov 4

Rodney Nelson takes over from Jordan Brunson at Miami (OH).

436rushing yards4rushing TD90carries

Rushing value per play

+0.12

our model · 2026 · 74 plays

Read the story so far

Rodney Nelson lines up at RB for Miami (OH).

On the field, the headline is 436 rush yds, with 4 rush td.

Rodney Nelson inherited the RB job from Jordan Brunson (3-star).

The number to watch: +0.12 — rushing value per play.

RB successionleap of faith

Inherited fromJordan Brunson 3★

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04

Style of play

Play style

Does a little of everything without one standout trait.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Anton Hall Jr.Navy · 2022 · 81% season match
Maquel HaywoodApp State · 2023 · 79% season match
Michael DyerLouisville · 2014 · 77% season match
Alec SinkfieldBoston College · 2021 · 75% season match
Cole TabbStanford · 2025 · 74% season match

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2026	Miami (OH)	90	436	4.8	4	58
Career		90	436	4.8	4	58

Season	Team
2026	Miami (OH)	2	22	11.0	0	23
Career		2	22	11.0	0	23

Last game (Wk 10): 45 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD.

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 14-59@ Pittsburgh	5	5	1.0	0	3
Wk 2	W 45-7vs Holy Cross	4	18	4.5	0	10
Wk 3	L 31-35@ Cincinnati	7	32	4.6	0	14
Wk 4	W 24-21vs UConn	12	29	2.4	0	6
Wk 5	L 20-24vs Bowling Green	16	70	4.4	0	15
Wk 6	W 20-19@ Massachusetts	11	52	4.7	0	15
Wk 7	W 34-14vs Akron	13	142	10.9	2	58	Season-high 142 yds
Wk 8	W 28-27@ Central Michigan	10	43	4.3	1	17
Wk 10	L 31-34vs Buffalo	12	45	3.8	1	13
Total		90	436	4.8	4	58

The latest game

Nov. 3 · L 31-34 vs Buffalo, play by play

12 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown.

2 went 10+ yards
3 stopped at or behind the line
4 moved the chains

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
4 for 13
Second quarterbegan up 7-3
4 for 18, 1 TD
Third quarterbegan up 18-10
2 for 2
Fourth quarterbegan up 18-16
2 for 121
FinalL 31-34

a carry, by its yardsa loss, below the linea catcha touchdown

No game thread archived for this game yet.

1
13-yard run. Fourth quarter, up 31-24.

The season, game by game

L 31-34 vs BuffaloNov. 345 yds12 carries, 1 TDPlay by play just above

W 28-27 at Central MichiganOct. 2443 yds10 carries, 1 TD

Play by playOn the field

10 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.

1 went 10+ yards
3 stopped at or behind the line
3 moved the chains

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
4 for 19, 1 TD
Second quarterbegan up 7-3
3 for 201
Third quarterbegan up 14-10
2 for 5
Fourth quarterbegan down 24-21
1 for -1
FinalW 28-27

a carry, by its yardsa loss, below the linea catcha touchdown

1
17-yard run. Second quarter, up 7-3.

1020304050

leftmiddleright

a carry, up for a gain and down for a lossa touchdown

Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

3 more games, with the play by play

W 34-14 vs AkronOct. 17142 yds13 carries, 2 TD

Play by playOn the field

13 carries for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns, his most this season.

4 went 10+ yards
2 stopped at or behind the line
6 moved the chains

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
4 for 14, 1 TD1
Second quarterbegan tied 7-7
4 for 23
Third quarterbegan up 17-7
4 for 47
Fourth quarterbegan up 27-14
1 for 58, 1 TD2
FinalW 34-14

a carry, by its yardsa loss, below the linea catcha touchdown

1
2-yard loss on 3rd and 3. First quarter, down 7-0.
2
58-yard touchdown run. Fourth quarter, made it 34-14.

10203040503658

leftmiddleright

a carry, up for a gain and down for a lossa touchdown

Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 20-19 at MassachusettsOct. 1052 yds11 carries

Play by playOn the field

11 carries for 52 yards.

2 went 10+ yards
3 stopped at or behind the line
3 moved the chains

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
2 for 151
Second quarterbegan up 14-7
1 for 3
Third quarterbegan up 14-10
5 for 26
Fourth quarterbegan up 17-10
3 for 8
FinalW 20-19

a carry, by its yardsa loss, below the linea catcha touchdown

1
15-yard run. First quarter, tied 7-7.

1020304050

leftmiddleright

a carry, up for a gain and down for a lossa touchdown

Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

L 20-24 vs Bowling GreenOct. 370 yds16 carries

Play by playOn the field

16 carries for 70 yards.

of the 14 carries drawn:
2 went 10+ yards
1 stopped at or behind the line
1 moved the chains
1 catch for -1 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
2 for 8
Second quarterbegan tied 0-0
4 for 10
Third quarterbegan down 10-6
4 for 24
Fourth quarterbegan down 10-9
4 for 21, 1 rec1
FinalL 20-24

a carry, by its yardsa loss, below the linea catcha touchdown

The per-play feed is missing a 1-yard run in the third quarter (the play drew a penalty) and a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 14 carries it has.

1
15-yard run. Fourth quarter, tied 17-17.

1020304050

leftmiddleright

a carry, up for a gain and down for a lossa touchdown

Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

Signature game

Week 7 · 2026

W 34-14

vs Akron

142 rush yds (13 car) · 2 TD

With P. Stainton — 45.8 yards per punt · 4 punts · 2 inside the 20 · S. Smith — 69 rush yds (1 car)

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 7 · Akron · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +4.56R.Nelson rush left for 58 yards gain to the Akron00 TOUCHDOWN
Week 10 · Buffalo · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.80R.Nelson rush left for 10 yards gain for a touchdown
Week 7 · Akron · 2nd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +2.56R.Nelson rush left for 9 yards gain to the Akron00 TOUCHDOWN
Week 7 · Akron · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.45R.Nelson rush left for 36 yards gain to the Akron29 (M.Flowers), out of bounds
Week 8 · Central Michigan · 1st and 6 · Q1 · EPA +2.05R.Nelson rush left for 6 yards gain for a touchdown
Week 6 · Massachusetts · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +1.84R.Nelson rush left for 11 yards gain to the UMass48 (I.Reed)

4 more plays

Week 8 · Central Michigan · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.34R.Nelson rush right for 17 yards gain to the Miami37 (J.Jones)
Week 6 · Massachusetts · 2nd and 6 · Q3 · EPA +1.14R.Nelson rush middle for 8 yards gain (Z.Daniel)
Week 7 · Akron · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.09R.Nelson rush right for 10 yards gain to the Miami27 (D.Frazier; J.Jones), out of bounds
Week 8 · Central Michigan · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA −1.02R.Nelson rush middle for 0 yards to the Miami50 (M.Hitchens; N.VanTimmeren)

Where he ranks

Rush yards436tied for 95thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries

Yards / carry4.8tied for 147thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries

Rush TDs4tied for 94thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries

Long run58tied for 67thAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries

Carries90tied for 82ndAmong 278 backs with 40 or more carries

Rec yards22236thAmong 273 backs with 40 or more carries

Receptions2tied for 253rdAmong 273 backs with 40 or more carries

112th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position

Rushing yards4367th in the Mid-American this season.

Rushing touchdowns4tied for 8th in the Mid-American this season.

Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.

Opponents faced, by strength

Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to -11 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).

Teams and coaches

2026Miami (OH)5-4HC: Chuck Martin · Run-leaning, slow tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 45 (#182 of 330). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

45Rotational starter #182 of 330?

12 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: success rate (8th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

TD rate#95 / 346 · 72nd pct

6.7%

Explosive rate#98 / 346 · 72nd pct

8.3%

Yards / carry#106 / 346 · 69th pct

5.8

EPA / carry#159 / 346 · 54th pct

0.16

Success rate#317 / 346 · 8th pct

34.5%

Box-score rates (7)

Long run#67 / 278 · 75th pct

Carries#82 / 278 · 71st pct

Rush yards#95 / 278 · 66th pct

436

Rush TDs#94 / 278 · 59th pct

Yards / carry#147 / 278 · 44th pct

4.8

Rec yards#236 / 273 · 14th pct

Receptions#253 / 273 · 5th pct

Season trend

EPA / carry— first qualifying season

Success rate— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Yards / carry— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Home5g	60.8	5.2	0.6
Road4g	33.0	3.6	0.2

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	49.7	4.6	0.3
Weeks 8+2g	44.0	4.0	1.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Chuck Martin

Pass share

43.0%

229 pass / 303 run

Plays / game

59.1

9 games

Team sack rate

8.6%

279 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

NCAA All-American

First team on a list outside the NCAA-recognized selectors.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Selector Grid · 2025

AP—

FWAA—

AFCA—

WCFF—

SN—

SI—

Rodney Nelson

This week

Worth knowing

Every carry this season

Style of play

Similar players

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

The latest game

The season, game by game

Signature game

Signature plays

Where he ranks

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

NCAA All-American

Three seasons, two schools

2025

Rodney Nelson

This week

Worth knowing

30% of the carries, 33% of the yards, 27% of the touchdowns

Share of the team's rushing yards, game by game

Who carried it

Every carry this season

Style of play

Similar players

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

The latest game

The season, game by game

Signature game

Signature plays

Where he ranks

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

NCAA All-American

Three seasons, two schools

2025