59 Days Until Hawkeye Football: Nathan Nelson

A brother from the same mother of a recent Hawkeye great.

Nathan Nelson - Sophomore
Waukee, IA (Waukee)
6’3’’ 261 lbs
2020 Projection: Reserve defensive end

We have another Nelson in the program these days, the younger brother of former terrormonster Anthony Nelson, who’s now on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Tristan Wirfs and a couple other household names.

The younger Nelson wasn’t as sought-after as his brother, and joined the team as a walk-on in 2018. He missed all of 2019 after an injury in spring ball, and now he’s staring down the barrel of a relatively loaded defensive line.

There isn’t much to go off of with Nelson. His walk-on status leaves room desired for an online recruiting profile of any sort, and he’s spent the past two years on the bench die to redshirting and injury.

What I do know is he’s a big boy for a defensive end, sharing just about the same dimensions as Parker Hesse, clocking over 260 lbs at “just” 6’3.’’ He came into the program at 215 lbs, so he’s been putting in work in a relatively short time on that end.

Nelson has his work cut out for him if he wants to play anywhere on the line this season. Chauncey Golston, John Waggoner and Joe Evans have the end spots pretty well nailed down while Daviyon Nixon, Noah Shannon, Austin Schulte and incoming transfer Jack Heflin clog things up the middle.

For now, it’s likely special teams time for NN to see if this project can live up to the expectations his brother set.