Chris Nelson is in his second season at UTSA and first as the program’s defensive tackles coach. He joined the Roadrunners in 2025 as a graduate assistant for the defense.
A former standout defender at Texas, Nelson worked with the defensive linemen and helped guide UTSA to a seven-win campaign in 2025. The Roadrunners capped the season with a 57-20 rout of FIU in the First Responder Bowl for their third consecutive bowl victory.
Nelson came to UTSA from Florida Atlantic, where he was a defensive line assistant coach in 2024.
A native of Lakeland, Florida, he got his start in coaching in 2021 as the defensive line coach at his high school alma mater, Victory Christian Academy.
Nelson was a five-year defensive lineman who played in 45 games with 29 career starts at Texas. He totaled 109 tackles (70 solo) with 15.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks and added four quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery as a Longhorn. He was an honorable mention All-Big 12 performer in 2018 and a 2017 Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection. He played in the East-West Shrine Game following his senior season before joining professional rosters for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, the CFL’s Edmonton Elks and the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars.
Nelson starred at Victory Christian, developing into one of the top defensive linemen in the country by his senior year. He was a three-time all-county performer, and he was named second-team all-state and the Florida Small School Player of the Year in 2013 following his final campaign.
Nelson earned his bachelor’s degree in youth and community studies with a minor in social work from Texas in 2019.