Defensive end, Iowa, 2014–18
Matt Nelson
Lettered 2015–18 (school media guide)
- Number
- No. 96
- Height
- 6′8″
- Weight
- 295 lb
- Class (2018)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Cedar Rapids, IA
- Born
- Dec 19, 1995, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Wikipedia readers: about 413 a month over the past year
Matt Nelson played defensive end at Iowa (2014–18).
Career highs
2sacks, career highat Rutgers, 2016Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Iowa | 96 | DE | RS | ||
| 2015 | Iowa | 96 | DE | Fr. | ||
| 2016 | Iowa | 96 | DE | So. | ||
| 2017 | Iowa | 96 | DE | Jr. | ||
| 2018 | Iowa | 96 | DE | Sr. | 6′8″ | 295 |
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
2018 Iowa 12 games, 31 tackles, 1 sack
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. Northern Illinois | W 33–7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 8 | vs. Iowa State | W 13–3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 15 | vs. Northern Iowa | W 38–14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 22 | vs. Wisconsin | L 17–28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 6 | at Minnesota | W 48–31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 13 | at Indiana | W 42–16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 20 | vs. Maryland | W 23–0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 27 | at Penn State | L 24–30 | 6 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 3 | at Purdue | L 36–38 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 10 | vs. Northwestern | L 10–14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 23 | vs. Nebraska | W 31–28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jan 1 ✦ | vs. Mississippi State | W 27–22 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
2017 Iowa 12 games, 23 tackles, 1 sack
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. Wyoming | W 24–3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | atIowa State | W 44–41 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 16 | vs. North Texas | W 31–14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 23 | vs.Penn State | L 19–21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 30 | at Michigan State | L 10–17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 7 | vs. Illinois | W 45–16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 21 | atNorthwestern | L 10–17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | vs.Minnesota | W 17–10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | vs. Ohio State | W 55–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 18 | vs.Purdue | L 15–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 24 | atNebraska | W 56–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 27 ✦ | vs. Boston College | W 27–20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2016 Iowa 12 games, 42 tackles, 5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. Miami (OH) | W 45–21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 10 | vs.Iowa State | W 42–3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs. North Dakota State | L 21–23 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 24 | at Rutgers | W 14–7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | vs.Northwestern | L 31–38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | atMinnesota | W 14–7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 15 | atPurdue | W 49–35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 22 | vs.Wisconsin | L 9–17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 5 | atPenn State | L 14–41 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 12 | vs. Michigan | W 14–13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | atIllinois | W 28–0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | vs.Nebraska | W 40–10 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Pro day 2019 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′7″ |
| Weight | 296 lb |
| Arm length | 34⅞″ |
| Hand size | 9⅜″ |
| 40-yard dash | 5.15 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.81 sW |
| Vertical jump | 30½″ |
| Broad jump | 9′3″ |
| Bench press | 15 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 7.45 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.61 s |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
4 seasons, 7 games with a stat; latest team: Minnesota Vikings.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Detroit Lions | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Detroit Lions | 1 | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Detroit Lions | 2 | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Detroit Lions | 1 | – | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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