Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 9 | 81st / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 7 | 71st / 2112 |
| Run stops | 13 | 503rd / 3422 |
| Sacks | 3 | — |
| Pass breakups | 2 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 34 | — |
Charting
Where Nicholl's plays went: throw and catch spots, air yards and yards after the catch, read from the play-by-play
The play-by-play names the defender on breakups, interceptions and tackles, but not the man in coverage on every throw, so true times-targeted isn't in the text. Coverage plays is the closest stand-in; exact targets come from hand charting.
Career
5 seasons at 2 schools since 2014 · box-score totals, snap share estimated from play-by-play
| Season | Team | G | Snaps | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD | Havoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far |  Kent State#135 · 3-6 | 9 | 73% | 40 | 5.5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| 2025 |  South Florida#22 · 9-4 | 3 | 7% | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Kent State#134 · 0-12 | 8 | 48% | 61 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | Kent State#133 · 1-11 | 9 | 22% | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 * | Kent State#89 · 5-7 | 4 | 7% | 8 | 2 | — | 0 | — | 1 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Rocco Nicholl's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded. * Defense rebuilt from the play-by-play (ESPN's box scores that season are missing it); about 10% below official totals.
Game Log
Rocco Nicholl's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 | @ South Carolina | L 0–57 | 7.8 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2 |  Wofford | W 36–15 | 7.6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 3 | @ Ohio State | L 3–59 | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 |  Ball State | W 26–13 | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | · | · |
| 5 |  Ohio | L 10–13 | 6.6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 | @ Western Michigan | L 7–38 | 5.9 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 7 | @South Florida | L 2–29 | 7.0 | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 8 |  Akron | W 35–20 | 5.9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 9 | @ Sacramento State | L 10–31 | 7.2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 2026 · 9 games | 6.6 | 40 | 24 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | · | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 40 | 380th / 5664 |
| Solo | 24 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 5.5 | 181st / 2634 |
| Sacks | 3 | 147th / 1383 |
| QB hurries | 3 | 231st / 1549 |
| Passes defended | 2 | 471st / 1772 |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
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
| Game | Start | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · South Carolina | ✓ LB | 72 | ~53 (27–62) | 6 | 74% |
| Wk 2 · Wofford | ✓ LB | 53 | ~49 (25–53) | 6 | 92% |
| Wk 3 · Ohio State | ✓ LB | 66 | ~30 (3–54) | 2 | 45% |
| Wk 4 · Ball State | ✓ LB | 54 | ~41 (21–48) | 3 | 76% |
| Wk 5 · Ohio | ✓ LB | 55 | ~42 (21–49) | 3 | 76% |
| Wk 6 · Western Michigan | — | 64 | ~34 (4–62) | 3 | 53% |
| Wk 7 · South Florida | — | 59 | ~51 (26–59) | 6 | 86% |
| Wk 8 · Akron | ✓ LB | 71 | ~54 (27–64) | 5 | 76% |
| Wk 9 · Sacramento State | ✓ LB | 66 | ~57 (29–66) | 5 | 86% |
| Season | 7 GS | 560 | 411 (348–478) | 39 | 73% |
Position Room
12 LBs on the Kent State roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Hayden Dawahare | LB | JR | 47 | 7 | 4 | — | 1 |
| 4 | Rocco Nicholl | LB | SR | 40 | 5.5 | 3 | — | 2 |
| 32 | Trey Rubinstein | LB | SO | 25 | 3 | 1 | — | 3 |
| 15 | Sayed Abuhamdeh | LB | JR | 18 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Rafael Terrero Jr. | LB | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Quan Rhodes-McKee | LB | SO | 11 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 17 | Semaj Bridgeman | LB | JR | 8 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 |
| 24 | Tanner Mintz | LB | FR | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Brodyn Bishop | LB | SO | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 30 | Matthew Sollberger | LB | SO | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 35 | Nate Gregory | LB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 | Kendall McNutt | LB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
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 —+ plays per team game. Kent State depth chart →