Head coach Billy Cosh and the Stony Brook football staff have announced the hiring of Jim Nelson as the Safeties Coach for the 2025 season.
Nelson spent five seasons on staff at Fresno State, serving as a full-time defensive assistant coach from 2022 to 2024 after working as a defensive quality control coach in 2020 and 2021. During his time with the Bulldogs, Nelson coached the nickelbacks and helped manage a talented and versatile group of defensive backs. The position saw a rotation of players, with RL Miller and Jakari Embry providing steady contributions, while safety Camryn Bracha and cornerback Al’zillion Hamilton also stepped in to support the unit.
Nelson coached Morice Norris Jr. during his final collegiate season, helping him earn Second Team All-Mountain West honors in 2023. Norris led Fresno State with 9.5 tackles for loss and posted career-best marks with 59 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, and ten pass breakups. He ranked third in the conference in passes defended and began his professional career with the Detroit Lions.
Nelson contributed to a defense that ranked second in the Mountain West and 20th nationally in the FBS in turnovers gained, with 33 on the season in 2023.
In his first full season as a full-time assistant, Nelson was part of a historic turnaround. Fresno State became the first FBS program to start 1-4 and finish with 10 wins, closing the season on a nine-game winning streak and claiming the 2022 Mountain West Championship along with a victory in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl.
With the arrival of defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, Nelson took on the challenge of preparing his group for new responsibilities in a revamped defense. First-year Bulldog Morice Norris Jr. responded by starting all 14 games and finishing fourth on the team with 57 tackles, including eight tackles for loss, one sack, six pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, and one forced fumble.
Before joining Fresno State, Nelson gained valuable experience with several programs. He served as a defensive graduate assistant at Indiana from 2017 to 2019 under head coach Tom Allen and previously held graduate assistant positions at North Carolina State in 2016 and South Florida in 2015. At USF, he worked with the safeties on a staff led by then-defensive coordinator Tom Allen. Nelson also spent two years coaching linebackers as a defensive graduate assistant at Central Missouri (2013–2014) and was a special teams intern at Montana State in 2012.
A native of Wheaton, Illinois, Nelson was a four-year letterwinner at Drake University from 2007 to 2011, playing defensive end, linebacker, and wide receiver. He was named the 2011 Drake Football Community Service Captain.
Nelson earned a bachelor’s degree from Drake in 2011 with a double major in marketing and entrepreneurial management. He completed his master’s degree in kinesiology at Central Missouri in 2014.
Jim and his wife Liv have one daughter, Annie.
