Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-16vs UT Rio Grande Valley | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 31-26@ Texas State | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Total | 8 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#16
Willie Nelson
Freshman safety on UTSA's 2026 roster.
5′8″ · 180 lb · Longview, TX
Returning to UTSA for 2026
Recruiting
3★
S recruit
No. 866 nationally · Signed with Oklahoma State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
1 safety on UTSA's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Oklahoma State in 2024.
Willie Nelson
The receipt: 5 tackles against Texas State — Week 2, 2026.
8 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- game log
His career
2024
- Signed with Oklahoma State3-star out of Longview
2025
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
UTSA
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2026UTSA2-0HC: Jeff Traylor · Balanced
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: qb hurries (83rd percentile). Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 4.0 TKL/g, 0.5 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Traylor
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UTSA | 8 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 8 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 45–16
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
UTSA
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · UTSA
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: -1 net (22 in / 23 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
UTSA · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #72 · 2026 recruiting class #79
The secondary · UTSA
- #15Tyan Milton51 tackles · 2025
- #12Marcellus Wilkerson27 tackles · 2025
- #14Jer'Marius Lewis25 tackles · 2025
- #27Jakevian Rodgers23 tackles · 2025
- #16Willie Nelson2 games · 2026
21 more on the roster · UTSA team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology