Upcoming Event: Football versus Georgia Tech on October 18, 2025 at 12:00 p.m.
Football
vs Georgia Tech
2024 Football Roster
Jersey Number 45
Ozzie Nicholas
- Position:
- Linebacker
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 225
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- Hometown:
- Encinitas, Calif.
- High School:
- La Costa Canyon
- Prev School:
- Princeton
CAREER: Lettered one season (2024) at Duke after being a two-year letterwinner (2022-23) and four-year member (2020-21-22-23) of the football program at Princeton ... Third Team All-ACC in 2024 ... recipient of Duke's Hard Hitter Award in 2024 ... an FCS All-America honoree in 2023 (Pro Football Focus, 1st; Stats Perform, 3rd) … two-time All-Ivy League selection (2023 – 1st; 2022 – 2nd) … in 38 career games (20 starts), registered 279 tackles, 14.0 TFL, 5.5 sacks, three INTs, five caused fumbles, one fumble recovery, six PBUs and 12 QB pressures … ACC Linebacker of the Week for October 21, 2024, after nine tackles, one INT and one caused fumble in Duke's 23-16 victory against Florida State ... led Duke in tackles with 100 during the 2024 campaign ... turned in the 75th season with 100+ tackles in Blue Devil history ... registered 7+ tackles in 23 games, 10+ in 13 games and a career-high 15 against Pennsylvania (2022), Bryant (2023) and Yale (2023) … booked 11 tackles versus Ole Miss in the 2024 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl to tie for the third most by a Blue Devil in a bowl game ... recorded 1.0+ TFL on nine occasions with a personal-best 1.5 against Lafayette and Dartmouth in 2023 … secured a career-best 1.5 sacks in a contest with Lafayette in 2023 … earned one INT against Yale in 2022 and added picks in consecutive games versus Florida State and SMU in 2024 … registered caused fumbles against Stetson (2022), Pennsylvania (2022 and 2023) and Florida State (2024) … fumble recoveries came against Quakers and Northwestern in 2024 … posted a career-high three QB pressures against Brown and two PBU against Pennsylvania in 2023.
2024: Third Team All-ACC selection … registered 100 tackles, 3.5 TFL, two INTs, two caused fumbles, one fumble recovery, two PBUs and four QB pressures ... turned in the 75th season with 100+ tackles in Blue Devil history ... carded 2+ tackles in 13 games ... had 5+ tackles in 11 weeks and reached double digits five times … posted a season-high 11 stops versus Virginia Tech and Ole Miss in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl ... the 11 tackles versus Ole Miss are tied for the third most in Duke bowl history ... registered 0.5 TFL in seven contests … intercepted passes in consecutive games versus Florida State and SMU … also caused a fumble versus the Seminoles, helping Duke to its first victory in program history against Florida State … tabbed the ACC Linebacker of the Week on October 21 following performance versus FSU … registered a PBU at Northwestern and one at NC State … added a caused fumble versus the Wolfpack … recovered a fumble at Northwestern and against SMU … helped Duke rank among the NCAA leaders in tackles for loss per game (second/8.9), fumbles recovered (second/14), sacks per game (fourth/3.3), turnovers gained (seventh/27) and turnover margin (24th/+0.62) ... on the field for 722 snaps.
PRIOR TO DUKE: Four-year member (2020-21-22-23) and two-year letterwinner (2022-23) at Princeton ... was an FCS All-America honoree in 2023 (Pro Football Focus, 1st; Stats Perform, 3rd) … two-time All-Ivy League selection (2023 – 1st [unanimous]; 2022 – 2nd) … played in 25 games (20 starts) at Princeton, registering 179 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, one INT, three caused fumbles, one fumble recovery, four PBUs and eight QB pressures … team captain in 2023 … registered double-figure tackles in eight games at Princeton, including a career-high 15 against Pennsylvania (2022), Bryant (2023) and Yale (2023) … posted 15 games with 7+ tackles … recorded 1.0+ TFL on nine occasions with a career-best 1.5 against Lafayette and Dartmouth in 2023 … secured a career-best 1.5 sacks in a contest with Lafayette in 2023 … earned one INT against Yale in 2022 and returned it 13 yards … registered caused fumbles against Stetson (2022), Pennsylvania (2022 and 2023), while lone fumble recovery came against Quakers … posted a career-high three QB pressures against Brown and two PBU against Pennsylvania in 2023 … tabbed the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week following a 10-tackle, one sack performance in a 21-14 win over No. 17 Harvard on October 21, 2023 … led the Ivy League in tackles with 104 in 2023, to become the first Tiger since 2004 to reach the benchmark … also finished 2023 fourth in the conference in sacks … registered the third-best defensive grade (90.5) in 2023 according to Pro Football Focus … attended La Costa Canyon and played for coach Sean Sovacool … three-star prospect by ESPN.com and 247Sports.com ... charted as the No. 62 inside linebacker nationally according to 247Sports.com … named all-league Defensive Player of the Year and first team all-state … two-time first-team all-league and team captain.
PERSONAL: Graduated from Princeton in May 2024, with a degree in history ... son of Blair and L.J. Nicholas.
2024: Third Team All-ACC selection … registered 100 tackles, 3.5 TFL, two INTs, two caused fumbles, one fumble recovery, two PBUs and four QB pressures ... turned in the 75th season with 100+ tackles in Blue Devil history ... carded 2+ tackles in 13 games ... had 5+ tackles in 11 weeks and reached double digits five times … posted a season-high 11 stops versus Virginia Tech and Ole Miss in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl ... the 11 tackles versus Ole Miss are tied for the third most in Duke bowl history ... registered 0.5 TFL in seven contests … intercepted passes in consecutive games versus Florida State and SMU … also caused a fumble versus the Seminoles, helping Duke to its first victory in program history against Florida State … tabbed the ACC Linebacker of the Week on October 21 following performance versus FSU … registered a PBU at Northwestern and one at NC State … added a caused fumble versus the Wolfpack … recovered a fumble at Northwestern and against SMU … helped Duke rank among the NCAA leaders in tackles for loss per game (second/8.9), fumbles recovered (second/14), sacks per game (fourth/3.3), turnovers gained (seventh/27) and turnover margin (24th/+0.62) ... on the field for 722 snaps.
PRIOR TO DUKE: Four-year member (2020-21-22-23) and two-year letterwinner (2022-23) at Princeton ... was an FCS All-America honoree in 2023 (Pro Football Focus, 1st; Stats Perform, 3rd) … two-time All-Ivy League selection (2023 – 1st [unanimous]; 2022 – 2nd) … played in 25 games (20 starts) at Princeton, registering 179 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, one INT, three caused fumbles, one fumble recovery, four PBUs and eight QB pressures … team captain in 2023 … registered double-figure tackles in eight games at Princeton, including a career-high 15 against Pennsylvania (2022), Bryant (2023) and Yale (2023) … posted 15 games with 7+ tackles … recorded 1.0+ TFL on nine occasions with a career-best 1.5 against Lafayette and Dartmouth in 2023 … secured a career-best 1.5 sacks in a contest with Lafayette in 2023 … earned one INT against Yale in 2022 and returned it 13 yards … registered caused fumbles against Stetson (2022), Pennsylvania (2022 and 2023), while lone fumble recovery came against Quakers … posted a career-high three QB pressures against Brown and two PBU against Pennsylvania in 2023 … tabbed the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week following a 10-tackle, one sack performance in a 21-14 win over No. 17 Harvard on October 21, 2023 … led the Ivy League in tackles with 104 in 2023, to become the first Tiger since 2004 to reach the benchmark … also finished 2023 fourth in the conference in sacks … registered the third-best defensive grade (90.5) in 2023 according to Pro Football Focus … attended La Costa Canyon and played for coach Sean Sovacool … three-star prospect by ESPN.com and 247Sports.com ... charted as the No. 62 inside linebacker nationally according to 247Sports.com … named all-league Defensive Player of the Year and first team all-state … two-time first-team all-league and team captain.
PERSONAL: Graduated from Princeton in May 2024, with a degree in history ... son of Blair and L.J. Nicholas.
Game Trailer: California
Friday, October 03
Coach Diaz Media Availability: Cal
Wednesday, October 01
Bruno Fina Media Availability: Cal
Tuesday, September 30
Tre Freeman Media Availability: Cal
Tuesday, September 30
