Kato Nelson

Photo by: David Dermer

Photo by: Jeff Harwell

Position:
QB
Class:
Redshirt Senior
Height:
6-1
Weight:
212
Hometown:
Hollywood, Fla.
High School:
Flanagan

On the career charts, stands No. 5 in passing yards (5,138) and No. 5 in total offense (5,760).

As a Redshirt Senior (2020): SAAC representative.

As a Redshirt Junior (2019): Started 10 games at quarterback ... finished 2019 with a school record-tying 0.21, the lowest percentage passes intercepted ... his 1,820 passing yards rank No. 19 for a season ... went 151-of-280 for 1,820 yards and 11 touchdowns ... at Miami, went 15-of-25 for 197 yards and a touchdown ... against Eastern Michigan, went 20-of-33 for 288 yards and two touchdowns ... his 87-yard TD pass to WR Timothy Scippio ranks as the third longest in program history ... missed the Buffalo game ... returned to the starting line-up at Bowling Green where he went 9-of-24 for 60 yards ... against Kent State, went 17of-28 for 202 yards after starting out a perfect 8-of-8 ... was also the Zips’ leading rusher with 64 yards on 14 carries ... at UMass, he went 13-of-17 for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the first half ... against Troy, went 15-of-29 for 200 yards and a touchdown ... at Central Michigan, went 26-of-42 for 241 yards and three touchdowns ... was also the leading rusher with 33 yards ... against UAB, set career highs with 25 completions, 44 attempts, and 359 passing yards ... in the opener at Illinois, went 10-of-24 for 122 yards ... named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List and a 2019 Player to Watch by the Touchdown Club of Columbus.

As a Redshirt Sophomore (2018): Team’s Offensive MVP … started 11 games at quarterback … went 178-of-342 passing for 2,329 yards and 15 touchdowns … his 15 touchdowns rank sixth on UA’s TD passes in a season, while his 2,329 passing yards rank ninth on UA’s season passing yards chart … also rushed for 303 yards and a touchdown on 131 carries … on Akron’s career list, moved up to No. 11 in career passing yards with 3,318 … his career highs performance of 24-of-41 for 356 yards and four touchdowns at Ohio rank No. 15 on the top single-game passing totals … his 3,318 total offensive yards rank No. 12 on the career chart, while his 2,632 total yards in 2018 ranked No. 7 for total yards in a season … in the win against Morgan State, went 16-of-26 for 232 yards and three touchdowns … also rushed for 42 yards … in the stunning win at Northwestern, went 17-of-28 for 277 yards and two touchdowns … named to the Davey O’Brien “Great 8” List (Sept. 17) … at Iowa State, went 12-of-28 for 153 yards and a touchdown … was also the Zips’ rushing leader with 15 carries for 56 yards … against Miami, went 19-of-35 for 203 yards and a touchdown while leading the Zips in rushing with 30 yards on 14 carries … went 12-of-29 for 115 yards while rushing for 37 yards at Buffalo … in the win at Kent State, went 19-of-35 for 219 yards and a touchdown … was also the Zips’ leading rusher with a career-high 90 yards on 17 rushes, including a career-long 55-yard run … tied the game at 17-17 in the third quarter with a 55-yard touchdown run, forcing overtime … in overtime, threw an eight-yard TD pass to sophomore Andre Williams … in the win over Central Michigan, went 10-27 for 149 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 10 times for 23 yards … against Northern Illinois, went 18-for-26 for a season-high 299 yards and two touchdowns … threw for 238 yards in the first half alone … missed the game at Eastern Michigan with an injury … returned to the starting line-up against Bowling Green … went 12-of-28 for 148 yards …had a career day at Ohio … threw a career-high 24 completions on a career-high 41 attempts for a career-high 356 yards and a career-best four touchdowns … his four TD passes tied for third on Akron’s list for TD passes in a game … at South Carolina, went 19-for-39 for 178 yards … lettered.

As a Redshirt Freshman (2017): Recipient of the Harry “Doc” Smith Award … played in 10 games with five starts … went 70-of-140 for 989 yards and eight touchdowns … also rushed 95 times for 198 yards and a touchdown … in the Boca Raton Bowl, went 9-of-15 for 80 yards while rushing for 21 yards … in the MAC Championship game against Toledo, started the game and went 8-of-18 for 177 yards and two touchdowns ... in the 24-14 win over Kent State, went 6-of-20 for 69 yards and a 25-yard touchdown pass while guiding the Zips to the MAC East title ... in his second career start in as many weeks, went 22-of-38 for a career-high 322 yards and career-best four touchdowns while guiding the Zips to a 37-34 win over Ohio to stay atop the MAC East standings … named MAC Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 20) … in his first collegiate start, went 19-of-38 for 218 yards and a touchdown at Miami … also rushed for 12 yards and a touchdown … both touchdowns were career firsts … in the win over Ball State, was 1-of-1 for 38 yards while rushing for 11 yards … in the MAC win at Bowling Green, went 1-for-1 for 15 yards and rushed for 27 yards … against Iowa State, went 2-for-4 for 53 yards while rushing for eight yards … in the 52-3 win over Arkansas Pine Bluff, was 1-of-3 for six yards … at No. 6 Penn State, saw action in the second half … went 1-of-2 for 11 yards while leading all Zips in rushing with 39 yards on nine carries … lettered.

As a Freshman (2016): Redshirted.

High School: Three-star recruit … first commitment of 2016 class … played quarterback his senior season for coach Devin Bush at Flanagan HS … two-time 2A All-State selection … 2015 2A Player of the Year … team advanced to 2015 state championship … as senior, threw for 1,404 yards and 16 touchdowns on 101-of-164 during the regular season … also the team’s leading rusher … had 72 rushes for 354 yards and five touchdowns … cousin Stanford Samuels III was a teammate … played his sophomore and junior seasons at Champagnat Catholic School in Hialeah … combined for 4,765 yards and 57 touchdowns … led Champagnat to the Class 2A state championship as a sophomore … played freshman season at McArthur HS.

Personal: Born September 19, 1997 … legal first name is Kalyn … nicknamed Kato as a kid by his late grandfather Rudolph Nelson … parents are Tiffany Boyd and Roger Nelson … has five siblings … sport management major.