Scouting Report: Tyler Nubin (SAF) - Minnesota
Sales Pitch: "High IQ safety with good size and excellent ball skills. Lacks the athletic ability or top end speed to be a difference maker on the back-end but has a well rounded game with a high floor that should quickly translate to the NFL."
Athletic Profile
Height: 6’ 1 1/4”
Weight: 205 lbs
Arm Length: 32”
Hand Size: 9”
40 Yard Dash: 4.59
10 Yard Split: 1.65
Vertical: 31.5”
Broad Jump: 10’ 0”
Short Shuttle: 4.51
3-Cone: 7.20
Age: 22
Relative Athletic Score: 3.72 / 10.00
Statistics
Career: 143 TKL - 4.5 TFL - 2 SK - 13 INT - 11 PD - 3 FF
2023: 34 TKL - 1 TFL - 1 SK - 5 INT - 4 PD - 1 FF
Strengths
Plus size and length for the position
Active communicator pre and post snap
Strong zone instincts and awareness
Highly experienced player with good football IQ
Capable of guarding TEs in man to man coverage
Closing instincts and ball skills to generate turnovers
Physical and disruptive at the catch point
Secure last line of defense
Runs the alley with size and toughness
Good run game leverage and pursuit angles
Deep and box SAF versatility
Weaknesses
Average athlete who lacks top end speed
Struggles to mirror WRs in man coverage
Lacks athletic ability to play single high
Stiff upright backpedal
Will overrun tackles as a pursuit player
Meniscus tear to end 2023 season
Summary
Tyler Nubin is an extremely experienced safety with excellent football instincts and ball skills. The former 4-Star from Illinois is one of the best defenders in Golden Gopher history. Nubin is a three time All-Big 10 player, 2023 All-American and holds the Minnesota program record for career interceptions with 13. Nubin has good size for a safety which allows him to match up with tight ends in man to man coverage. It also makes him an effective run defender, where he shows the strength to take on and shed blockers in the box, as well as stopping power as a tackler in the hole. Nubin has a tendency to over run and lunge as a tackler in pursuit but generally is a secure last line of defense. He takes good pursuit angles and plays with proper leverage when closing from deep. An extremely experienced player, Nubin displays high level football acumen. He is an active communicator pre and post snap, acting as a leader on the back-end. He does an excellent job in zone coverage passing off and picking up routes as they pass through his zone. He shows good spatial awareness, rarely getting moved out of position by underneath routes or QBs eyes. Nubin is adept at quickly diagnosing plays in front of him and closing out of his backpedal. He shows good ball tracking skills and soft hands to secure interceptions. When he cannot make a play on the ball, he brings power behind his pads to separate ball from receiver at the catch point. Nubin put up poor testing numbers during the draft process - he did just recently recover from a meniscus surgery this winter - but it matches the tape. He lacks the top end movement skills or long speed to be a true single high safety. He is at his best in two high looks or down in the box. His plus instincts can cover up some of his deficiencies but at the next level that will be more consistently exposed if asked to man centerfield. Nubin projects as a starting deep safety that can play to the field or boundary in two-high looks with the size to role down in the box. His lack of athleticism and elite traits likely caps his ceiling but he possesses a well rounded high floor game that should translate to a majority of modern schemes day one.