By Alec Nederveld
Yesterday evening, USC Freshman QB Malachi Nelson entered the Transfer Portal. The five-star quarterback was a consensus top-five quarterback and ranked #1 by Mike Farrell. The Los Alamitos, CA (Los Alamitos) native played in one game, going 1-3 for 0 yards.
Nelson originally committed to Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley on July 18th, 2021. He decommited on November 28th, the same day Riley left for USC. Two days later, he flipped and followed his coach. His top seven from July 11th, 2021, that included those two programs, Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.
With Caleb Williams declaring for the draft, Nelson was seen as the next great Lincoln Riley QB. He was expected to compete with redshirt sophomore backup Miller Moss for the starting job next year. However, Riley, for whatever reason, wanted to bring in another guy. Kansas State transfer Will Howard has committed to the Trojans.
Other than playing time, could Nelson be leaving because Riley is leaving for the NFL? His stock certainly dipped after going 7-5, but he still has one of the brightest offensive minds in the world and has been stressed by the increased workload in college football. I think it’s unlikely, but Nelson knows more than I do.
Either way, this is a talented quarterback that Riley hand-picked. Here are some potential landing spots for him:
Texas A&M
A&M was part of Nelson’s top seven and were the only school he visited other than Oklahoma and USC. They have Conner Weigman, but new coach Mike Elko might want a different guy to lead the charge.
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Florida State
Losing Jordan Travis puts Nelson in a favorable position, only needing to beat veteran Tate Rodemaker to start next year. Mike Norvell works the portal better than nearly everybody and could emphasize the success of Travis and the team. The Seminoles were also in Nelson’s top seven.
LSU
A similar situation as Florida State, although with a better QB waiting in the wings. Jayden Daniels is coming off of a Heisman and has declared for the NFL draft. He would have to beat out Garrett Nussmeier to start next fall.
Michigan
JJ McCarthy hasn’t made a decision, but he would be a high draft pick if he declared. The two QBs have similar builds, although McCarthy is a better runner. Michigan does have other portal options, such as Dante Moore, but weak depth behind McCarthy.
UCLA
Maybe Nelson just wants to stay home? A SoCal kid, joining UCLA would keep him in the same city and conference. Chip Kelly has developed guys like Dennis Dixon, Marcus Mariota, and, more recently, Dorian Thompson-Robinson. However, he was nearly fired and mishandled fellow five-star Dante Moore’s development.
Nelson still has a lot of potential and will be highly sought after in the portal.
