Once upon a time, Malachi Nelson was one of the highest-rated quarterback recruits to come out of sunny Southern California, a place known for producing some of football’s best throwers.
The two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in California threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 39 touchdowns his junior year of high school.
He was ranked as the fifth-best quarterback in the star-studded 2023 class, just behind notable names such as Jackson Arnold, Dante Moore, Nico Iamaleava and Texas’ very own Arch Manning.
“(He is) perhaps the most natural thrower in an excellent 2023 QB group,” 247Sports scouting analyst Gabe Brooks wrote about Nelson in November 2021. “(He) projects as an impact starter at the high-major level, with long-term early-round NFL Draft potential.”
So it comes as a surprise to many when reflecting on such a recent class that four out of five of the nation’s top throwers are not with their original school. Manning is the sole holdout of the bunch.
Jackson transferred to Auburn after a tough sophomore campaign, Moore went north to Oregon after his freshman season and is their starter this season and Iamaleava left Tennessee after guiding them to a College Football Playoff berth just last season and is now UCLA’s starter.
Then there is Nelson.
A redshirt season at USC and three passing attempts later, Nelson put his name in the portal, landing at Boise State in the wake of Taylen Green’s transfer to Arkansas. Nelson entered a position battle with Maddux Madsen in the spring for the open starting quarterback position.
“I’ve never not touched the field, never not played in a season,” Nelson said in an interview with ABC-7. “It messed my mind up, and I was in a weird place.”
Nelson would not be able to take the job over Madsen, who earned the starting position later, leading the Broncos’ runs to the CFP quarterfinals.
“It was like this feeling of, ‘Whoa, … I put all this stuff on and I didn’t even get to touch the field,’” Nelson said. “That was like a wake-up call for me — nothing is easy at this level.
Sometimes, the third time’s the charm — it was for Nelson. He beat out incumbent starter redshirt junior Skyler Locklear in the spring, becoming the Miners’ full-time starter heading into this season.
“I wanted to be more safe this time around … where I felt wanted and more loved,” Nelson said.
In two games for the Miners, Nelson is looking like the quarterback talent evaluators thought he would be when he was coming out of Los Alamitos High School. Nelson has connected for 36-60, tossing five touchdowns and 456 yards, a majority of which came last week against UT-Martin.
Of the top quarterbacks from the 2023 class, only Iamaleava and Arnold have squared off in a head-to-head game. Now, Manning and Nelson will be able to add their names to that list.
“Malachi is an extremely talented young man. Every single day, it’s about instilling confidence in him that he can do it,” UTEP head coach Scotty Walden said. “When I think he plays with confidence, man, he is on.”
