Riley Van Poppel
Nebraska Cornhuskers
84
Good

Riley Van Poppel

NTDefenseGood
Projected Starter

Is Riley Van Poppel starting?

Riley Van Poppel is the projected starter at NT for Nebraska Cornhuskers.

See full Nebraska Cornhuskers depth chart ›

The Story

Making His Case

A 4-star recruit out of Argyle, ranked #386 nationally coming out of high school. In 2025: 16 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks. That's 3% of the team's production at his spot — good for a 84 overall (Good tier).

Recruit4★ · #386 Natl3-Yr Total24 tackles · 2 sacksTeam Share3%
Argyle, TX
Jersey
#5
Class
RS JR
Height
6'5"
Weight
295 lbs

Career Stats

SeasonTklTFLSacks
2025162.51.5
2024310
2023510.5

Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.

Recruiting Profile

Stars
★★★★4-star
Composite
0.8955
National Rank
#386
High School
Argyle
Hometown
Argyle, TX

Why this rating?

On a 82-rated defense; 71th-percentile production (×0.91 for competition level) put them +2 vs unit starters → 84.

Team defense (SP+)
82
Rating basis
On-field stats
On-field production
Outperforms 71% of peers
Recruiting pedigree
Top 25% recruit
Strength of schedule
Faces easier competition — rating adjusted down (×0.91)
Depth-chart adjustment
+2 for role

2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.

The People's Ratings

Is our 84 OVR fair?
84
Good
Vote to see what thousands of fans think

Team Role

16 tkl · 2.5 TFL · 1.5 sacks
Usage / Involvement60%

Depth at NT · Nebraska Cornhuskers

Coach NebraskaTake them from week one to the natty. You call every play.

Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.