96 Matt Nelson
DE 6-8 275 So.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Xavier
2015 Honors - - Academic All-Big Ten . . . 2015 - - Saw action in 13 games, recording 14 tackles, with 1.5 tackles for loss, one QB sack and one forced and one recovered fumble . . . saw first action of career in 31-14 win over Illinois State, recording one solo tackle and one assist as defense allowed 35 net yards rushing and 231 yards total offense . . . saw action in 31-17 win at Iowa State, but had no statistics as defense allowed no points and just 66 yards total offense in the second half . . . did not see action in 27-24 win over Pitt . . . saw action in 62-16 win over North Texas, recording two solo tackles . . . saw action in 10-6 win at Wisconsin, recording one assisted tackle as defense allowed no touchdowns and just 320 yards total offense . . . saw action in 29-20 win over Illinois, but had no statistics as defense allowed just 46 net rushing yards . . . saw action in 40-10 win at Northwestern, but had no statistics as defense allowed just 51 net rushing yards and 198 yards total offense . . . saw action in 31-15 win over Maryland, but had no statistics . . . saw action in 35-27 win at Indiana, but had no statistics . . . saw action in 40-35 win over Minnesota, recording one assisted tackle . . . saw action in 40-20 win over Purdue . . . career-best five tackles in win over Purdue, including four solo stops and one assist, with a caused and recovered fumble . . . saw action in 28-20 win at Nebraska, but had no statistics . . . saw action in 16-13 loss to Michigan State, recording one solo tackle . . . saw action in 45-16 Rose Bowl loss to Stanford . . . recorded one solo stop and one assist vs. Stanford, including first career QB sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
2014 - - Redshirted.
High school honors - - Named to Elite All-State team as a senior and first team all-state as a junior . . . first team all-conference as a senior and second team all-conference as a junior . . . selected for Iowa Shrine Bowl . . . Career - - Two-year letterman as defensive end and tight end . . . helped prep team post two-year record of 25-2 while reaching Class 4-A state title game in consecutive years . . . recorded 43 tackles as a senior, with 13 tackles for loss and nine sacks . . . collected 47 tackles as a junior, with 19 tackles for loss and 11 sacks . . . recorded 13 receptions for 146 yards and four touchdowns as a senior, with 14 receptions for 162 yards and eight scores as a junior . . . team captain as a senior . . . three-year basketball letterman.
Personal - - Born 12/19/95 . . . biology major . . . mother is Julie Palmer and father is Jay Nelson . . . Academic All-State . . . four-year member of prep Honor Roll . . . high school coach was Duane Schulte.
