#7
Ball State · 2026

CJ Nelson

WRSenior5' 11", 184 lbsNorth Richland Hills, TX
Ball State Cardinals1-2 · TDC #130
Snap share
23%
likely 10–30%
Receptions
2
991st of 1676 in FBS
Rec. yards
14
1201st of 1662 in FBS
Yards / catch
7.0
Rec. TD
0
EPA / play
-0.11
4 plays

Efficiency & Role

EPA = expected points added per play. Compared with every FBS WR/TE who qualifies

EPA per play by situation

4 plays · -0.5 total EPA · not enough plays to rank yet
All plays-0.11
Passing-0.11
1st down-0.49
2nd down+1.03
Standard downs-0.11
NelsonWR/TE average

Share of team plays

How often the offense runs through this player. Pass = targets or dropbacks, rush = carries
All plays3%
Pass plays6%
Run plays0%
1st down5%
2nd down2%
3rd down0%
Standard downs5%
Passing downs0%
NelsonWR/TE average

2026 Season Stats

FBS rank among qualifying players

Receiving2026FBS rank
Receptions2991st / 1676
Yards141201st / 1662
Yards / catch7—
Touchdowns0—
Long8—

Snaps by Game

Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works

GameTeam playsEst. snapsPlays involvedPenaltiesSnap share
Wk 1 · Ohio State60~23 (7–31)3·38%
Wk 2 · Stony Brook68~7 (2–11)1110%
Season12830 (13–39)4123%

Position Room

11 WRs on the Ball State roster, ordered by rec

#PlayerPosClassRecYdsTDTgt shareEPA/play
11Isaiah ThackerWRSR1086015%+0.33
1Donovan HamiltonWRJR770013%+0.06
10Jamarion McDougleWRSR777014%+0.16
5Jabari SmithWRSR672114%+0.86
7CJ NelsonWRSR21406%-0.11
14Elisha DurhamWRSO24706%+0.75
8Corey Thompson Jr.WRSR—————
15Tayshon BardoWRFR—————
80Derion TalbertWRSO—————
83Eli HohltWRSR—————
85Ace CooperWRFR———0%-0.72

Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes 4+ plays per team game. Ball State depth chart →