Malachi Nelson (born December 7, 2003) is an
American football quarterback for the
Boise State Broncos. He previously played for the
USC Trojans.
Early life and high school
Nelson was raised in
Los Alamitos, California and attended
Los Alamitos High School. He began receiving scholarship offers to play college football while he was in the eighth grade. As a freshman as Los Alamitos, Nelson passed for 883 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. Nelson completed 73.9% of his passes for 1,513 yards and 23 touchdowns during his sophomore season.
Nelson was rated a five-star recruit and committed to play college football at
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
during the summer prior to his junior year over offers from
Alabama,
Florida State,
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
,
Notre Dame,
Ohio State, and
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
. Nelson was named the ''
Press-Telegram'' Player of the Year after passing for 2,690 yards and 39 touchdowns in his junior season. He decommitted shortly after the departure of Oklahoma head coach
Lincoln Riley. Nelson then committed to play at USC. Nelson competed in the finals of the 2022
Elite 11 quarterback competition. Entering his senior season, he was ranked the best recruit in the nation by ''
ESPN''.
College career
USC
Nelson joined the
USC Trojans as an early enrollee in January 2023.
On December 17, 2023, Nelson announced that he would be entering the transfer portal.
Boise State
On January 6, 2024, Nelson announced that he would be transferring to
Boise State
Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...
.
College statistics
Personal life
Nelson's father, Eric, is a pastor. Nelson signed a
Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal with a Los Angeles-based hospitality firm shortly after the conclusion of his junior year of high school.
References
External links
USC Trojans bio
2003 births
Living people
Los Alamitos High School alumni
American football quarterbacks
USC Trojans football players
Boise State Broncos football players
Players of American football from Los Alamitos, California
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