Cornerback, USC (from Mississippi State), 2022–25
DeCarlos Nicholson
Lettered 2022–23 at Mississippi State; 2024–25 at USC (school media guide)
- Number
- No. 17
- Height
- 6′3″
- Weight
- 200 lb
- Class (2025)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Petal, MS
DeCarlos Nicholson played cornerback at Mississippi State (2022–23) and USC (2024–25).
Career highs
10tackles, career highvs. LSU, 2023Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Mississippi State | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | Mississippi State | 42 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | USC | 27 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | USC | 42 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Career | 116 | 66 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Mississippi State | 17 | CB | Fr. | ||
| 2023 | Mississippi State | 17 | CB | So. | ||
| 2024 | USC | 17 | CB | Jr. | ||
| 2025 | USC | 17 | CB | Sr. | 6′3″ | 200 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2025 USC 13 games, 42 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | vs. Missouri State | W 73–13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 6 | vs. Georgia Southern | W 59–20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 13 | at Purdue | W 33–17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 20 | vs. Michigan State | W 45–31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 27 | at Illinois | L 32–34 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 11 | vs. Michigan | W 31–13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 18 | at Notre Dame | L 24–34 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 1 | at Nebraska | W 21–17 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 7 | vs. Northwestern | W 38–17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nov 15 | vs. Iowa | W 26–21 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 22 | at Oregon | L 27–42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 29 | vs. UCLA | W 29–10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 30 ✦ | vs. TCU | L 27–30 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2024 USC 11 games, 27 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. LSU | W 27–20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 28 | vs. Wisconsin | W 38–21 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 5 | at Minnesota | L 17–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 12 | vs. Penn State | L 30–33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 19 | at Maryland | L 28–29 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 25 | vs. Rutgers | W 42–20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nov 2 | at Washington | L 21–26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | vs.Nebraska | W 28–20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nov 23 | atUCLA | W 19–13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 30 | vs.Notre Dame | L 35–49 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 27 ✦ | vs. Texas A&M | W 35–31 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 Mississippi State 11 games, 42 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9 | vs. Arizona | W 31–24 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 16 | vs.LSU | L 14–41 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 23 | at South Carolina | L 30–37 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 30 | vs. Alabama | L 17–40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 7 | vs. Western Michigan | W 41–28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 21 | at Arkansas | W 7–3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | at Auburn | L 13–27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | vs. Kentucky | L 3–24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 11 | atTexas A&M | L 10–51 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 18 | vs. Southern Miss | W 41–20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | vs. Ole Miss | L 7–17 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 Mississippi State 3 games, 5 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | atArizona | W 39–17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 24 | vs. Bowling Green | W 45–14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | vs. East Tennessee State | W 56–7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Pro day 2026 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′3¼″ |
| Weight | 200 lb |
| Arm length | 33½″ |
| Hand size | 9¼″ |
| Wingspan | 81¾″ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.57 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.67 s |
| Vertical jump | 34½″ |
| Broad jump | 11′0″ |
| Bench press | 11 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 6.64 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.25 s |
Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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