Arvell Nelson (born September 27, 1988) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who played in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He was signed by the Alabama Hammers as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2012. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, before transferring to

Fort Scott Community College Fort Scott Community College is a Public college, public community college in Fort Scott, Kansas. It has satellite buildings in other cities in Crawford County, Kansas, Crawford County, including Pittsburg, Kansas, Pittsburg and Frontenac, Kansa ...

and

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

Early life

Nelson attended

Glenville High School Glenville High School is a public high school in the Glenville area on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. The school is part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The school originally resided at the former Oliver Wendell Holmes scho ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, where he was a quarterback for the Tarblooders football team. Nelson's quarterback play landed him scholarship opportunities at

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

College career

Iowa

Nelson choose to commit to the

, where he redshirted during his freshman season. As a redshirt freshman in 2007, Nelson was given the opportunity to compete with Jake Christensen for the Hawkeyes starting quarterback spot, but Christensen won, and Nelson was named the team's backup quarterback. Nelson saw his first college playing time in the Hawkeyes second game of the season, a 35–0 victory over Syracuse. Nelson completed his only pass attempt for 12 yards. Nelson would later be moved to

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

, losing the backup quarterback position to

Ricky Stanzi Richard Joseph Stanzi (born September 3, 1987) is an American former football quarterback. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft. He was on the active ...

. Nelson was dismissed from the Hawkeyes football team by head coach

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the Universi ...

Fort Scott

In 2008, Nelson enrolled at

, where he joined the football team as a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. Nelson also saw time playing quarterback, but his play at safety lead him to being named second team All-

Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) is a college athletic conference that is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). As of 2007, the KJCCC was home to more than 3,000 student-athletes in the 19 ...

Texas Southern

Nelson choose to enroll at

in 2009, where he was named the starting quarterback for the Tigers. Nelson was named the

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...

Newcomer of the Year after finishing second in the conference in passing yards and passing touchdowns. In 2010, Nelson returned as the starter for the Tigers, and lead them to a west division title. Nelson however missing the

SWAC Championship Game The SWAC Championship Game, officially the Cricket Wireless SWAC Championship Game, is an American college football game that is held annually on the first Saturday in December by the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to determine its foot ...

due to an NCAA violation. The Tigers ended up winning the SWAC Championship Game without Nelson, The NCAA later revoked the teams championship due to a major sports violation.

Professional career

Nelson was rated the 51st best quarterback in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Alabama Hammers

After going undrafted in the

, Nelson signed with the Alabama Hammers of the

Professional Indoor Football League The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor F ...

(PIFL). Nelson was named the team's starting quarterback for the first eight games of the season, before being replaced by Tony Colston.

Spokane Shock

Nelson was assigned to the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divis ...

of the

(AFL) on November 8, 2012. Nelson was brought in to compete for playing time at quarterback, with former Shocker starter

Kyle Rowley Kyle Rowley (born January 30, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL) and the af2. He played college football at Brown. Rowley was the first quarterback to win an AFL ArenaBowl ...

departing for the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

. Nelson made the team as a backup to

Erik Meyer Erik Meyer (born December 28, 1982) is an American former professional football quarterback and current coach. He is the offensive coordinator for St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, California, a position he has held since 2025. He was s ...

. Nelson lined up at a multitude of positions for the Shock, making his debut as a quarterback, only to run the football. It wasn't until the Shock's Week 11 game against the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

when Nelson attempted his first pass. Nelson finished the season with 5 touchdown passes on 16-of-20 attempts, while also getting 6 rushing touchdowns, and 4 receiving touchdowns. The Shock picked up their rookie option on Nelson in September 2013.

Pittsburgh Power

On October 3, 2013, the Shock traded Nelson and Ben Ossai for

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team belonged to the East Division (AFL), East Division of the American Conference in the Arena Football League. Founded in 2010, the Power was t ...

Mike Washington. The Power folded in November 2014.

Spokane Shock

On January 5, 2015, Nelson was reassigned to the Shock. After spending the first 12 weeks of the season on the refused to report list, Nelson was activated on June 16, 2015.

Cleveland Gladiators

In March 2016, Nelson was assigned to the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ...

. He began the season at jack linebacker for the Gladiators but became the starting quarterback after injuries to Chris Dieker and Dennis Havrilla. He made his first start at quarterback for the team on April 29, 2016 after Havrilla was injured, throwing for 332 yards and six touchdowns in a 76–56 loss to the

. Nelson threw for 3,425 yards and 70 touchdowns in 2016. On March 25, 2017, Nelson was placed on recallable reassignment. Nelson was assigned to the Gladiators on April 12, 2017. Nelson made his first start of the season for the Gladiators on April 22, 2017. Nelson was the third different starting quarterback the Gladiators had used in three games.

Richmond Roughriders

Nelson signed with the

Richmond Roughriders Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

of the

American Arena League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional Indoor American football, indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Ca ...

in April 2018.

Washington Valor

Nelson was assigned to the

Washington Valor The Washington Valor were a professional arena football team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Capital One Arena. The Valor were owned by Ted Leonsis throug ...

on May 29, 2018. He led the Valor to a 69–55 victory in

ArenaBowl XXXI ArenaBowl XXXI was the championship game of the 2018 Arena Football League season. The game was broadcast on CBS Sports Network, AFLNow and Twitter. It featured the fourth-seeded Washington Valor and the second-seeded Baltimore Brigade at the ...

and was named the ArenaBowl Most Valuable Player.

Jacksonville Sharks

Nelson signed with the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. They were members of the Are ...

in Week 6 of the 2022 season where he threw for 40 Touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

San Antonio Gunslingers

On March 16, 2023, Nelson signed with the San Antonio Gunslingers of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

(NAL). Nelson became a free agent at the end of the season.

AFL statistics

''Stats from ArenaFan'':

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Arvell 1988 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football linebackers American football safeties Iowa Hawkeyes football players Fort Scott Greyhounds football players Texas Southern Tigers football players Alabama Hammers players Spokane Shock players Pittsburgh Power players Cleveland Gladiators players Richmond Roughriders players Washington Valor players Players of American football from Cleveland San Antonio Gunslingers (indoor football) players Jacksonville Sharks players