Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
8/113rd/4th & short
4/22Inside-5 share
8 of 11 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (72.7%). 4 of the team's 22 inside-the-5 carries (18.2%).
Will Nixon
Will Nixon is a running back who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Syracuse.
On Trialas of Nov 4
Will Nixon is on trial in Syracuse's fan jury — the eye test against the résumé.
Syracuse fans are litigating the player's worthiness — the eye test against the résumé.
low confidence1 source
Minority viewA vocal minority sees it the other way.
Read the story so far
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Wins in space out of the backfield.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Syracuse | 107 | 432 | 4.0 | 3 | 28 |
| 2024 | Syracuse | 19 | 76 | 4.0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2023 | Washington | 33 | 201 | 6.1 | 1 | 21 |
| 2022 | Washington | 21 | 89 | 4.2 | 2 | 13 |
| 2021 | Nebraska | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 180 | 798 | 4.4 | 6 | 28 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Syracuse | 24 | 173 | 7.2 | 0 | 21 |
| 2024 | Syracuse | 4 | 44 | 11.0 | 0 | 20 |
| 2023 | Washington | 13 | 84 | 6.5 | 0 | 18 |
| 2022 | Washington | 7 | 66 | 9.4 | 0 | 18 |
| 2021 | Nebraska | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Career | 49 | 372 | 7.6 | 0 | 21 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 26-45vs No. 24 Tennessee | 9 | 33 | 3.7 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 2 | W 27-20vs UConn | 9 | 30 | 3.3 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 3 | W 66-24vs Colgate | 12 | 66 | 5.5 | 1 | 28 | |
| Wk 4 | W 34-21@ Clemson | 10 | 46 | 4.6 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 5 | L 3-38vs Duke | 7 | 25 | 3.6 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 6 | L 18-31@ SMU | 7 | 10 | 1.4 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 8 | L 13-30vs Pittsburgh | 5 | 9 | 1.8 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 9 | L 16-41@ No. 7 Georgia Tech | 6 | 17 | 2.8 | 1 | 8 | |
| Wk 10 | L 10-27vs North Carolina | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 11 | L 10-38@ No. 18 Miami | 7 | 61 | 8.7 | 0 | 23 | |
| Wk 13 | L 7-70@ No. 9 Notre Dame | 14 | 33 | 2.4 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 14 | L 12-34vs Boston College | 16 | 73 | 4.6 | 0 | 28 | Season-high 73 yds |
| Total | 107 | 432 | 4.0 | 3 | 28 |
Signature game
Week 4 · 2025
W 34-21
at Clemson
46 rush yds (10 car) · 1 TD · 3 rec · 23 yds
With S. Angeli — 244 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 76.6 · J. Stonehouse — 44.7 yards per punt · 6 punts · 4 inside the 20
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 3 · Colgate · 2nd and 7 · Q2 · EPA +2.85Will Nixon run for 28 yds to the COLG 37 for a
- Week 4 · Clemson · 2nd and 8 · Q2 · EPA +2.82Steve Angeli pass complete to Will Nixon for 10 yds to the CLEM 36 for a Clemson Penalty, UNR: Unnecessary Roughness (Ronan Hanafin) to the CLEM 49 for a
- Week 11 · Miami · 3rd and 5 · Q4 · EPA +2.50W.Nixon rush right for 15 yards gain (J.Richard)
- Week 9 · Georgia Tech · 3rd and 1 · Q4 · EPA +2.45Will Nixon 1 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
- Week 4 · Clemson · 1st and 9 · Q2 · EPA +2.42Will Nixon run for 9 yds for a TD (Tripp Woody KICK)
- Week 14 · Boston College · 2nd and 3 · Q1 · EPA +2.37W.Nixon rush left for 28 yards gain (K.Price)
4 more plays
- Week 9 · Georgia Tech · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA −2.15W.Nixon rush left for 0 yards (E.Lightsey), TURNOVER ON DOWNS. The previous play is under automatic review - "Short of the line to gain". CALL UPHELD
- Week 11 · Miami · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.07W.Nixon rush left for 23 yards gain (D.Brown), out of bounds
- Week 1 · Tennessee · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +1.89Steve Angeli pass complete to Will Nixon for 21 yds to the SYR 46 for a
- Week 14 · Boston College · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.73Filardi to Nixon: a 12-yard pass.
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
105 of 107 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
42%105 carriesFumble rate
2.8%3 of 107 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer yds13%of carries
14 carries
Grind
1–3 yds47%of carries
49 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds32%of carries
34 carries
Explosive
10+ yds8%of carries
8 carries
8 of 11 (73%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 2 of 4 (50%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
4.0 yds/carry on 107 carries · 8% explosive (10+ yds) · 42% success rate.
Receiving profile
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
22 of 24 receptions matched to play-by-play
14 of 33 targets charted for true throw depth
Targets
339% of team targetsCatch rate
67%22 of 33 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
36% of targets (5)
100%catch rate
Air -4.2 · YAC 7.6 avg
Short · 0–9 air yds
64% of targets (9)
33%catch rate
Air 3.0 · YAC 3.0 avg
67% catch rate on 33 targets · 9% of the team's targets.
Situational
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
13%
Stuffed (≤0)
47%
Grind (1–3)
32%
Chunk (4–9)
8%
Explosive (10+)
Teams and coaches
2021Nebraska3-9HC: Scott Frost · Run-leaning
2022Washington11-2HC: Kalen DeBoer · Pass-leaning
2023Washington14-1HC: Kalen DeBoer · Pass-leaning
2024Syracuse10-3HC: Fran Brown · Pass-leaning, fast tempo
2025Syracuse3-9HC: Fran Brown · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 38.7 | 4.1 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 33.4 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 35.0 | 3.7 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 37.0 | 4.3 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Fran Brown
Pass share
48.6%
408 pass / 432 run
Plays / game
70.0
12 games
Team sack rate
7.8%
447 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Starter
107 carries and 24 catches in 12 games, about as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
42 · #198 of 326 RBs · 2025
Three-star recruit. Now #198 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #28 of 38 ACC RBs
How the All-ACC base rate is computed
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
Six seasons, three schools
- 2025 Syracuse BrownYear 6 · 12 games
- 2024 Syracuse BrownYear 5 · 3 games
- Mar 2024 Entered the transfer portalWashington to Syracuse
- 2023 Washington DeBoerYear 4 · 14 games
- 2022 Washington DeBoerYear 3 · 8 games
- Apr 2022 Entered the transfer portalNebraska to Washington
- 2021 Nebraska FrostYear 2 · 1 game
- 2020 Nebraska FrostYear 1 · on the roster, no stat line
- High school MidwayWaco, TX · Class of 2020Three-star, No. 714 in the 2020 class.
Moves
- Transferred from Nebraska to Washington, Apr 6, 2022.
- Transferred from Washington to Syracuse, Mar 29, 2024.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
2020
- RecruitedThree-star, out of Midway
2022 8 games
- Transferred to Washingtonfrom Nebraska
2024 3 games
The snaps went the other way.
- Transferred to Syracusefrom Washington
Coaching lineage · 2020–2025
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 3 schools: Scott Frost, Kalen DeBoer and Fran Brown.