Montae Nicholson (born December 4, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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

and was drafted by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the fourth round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

High school career

Nicholson attended Gateway High School in

Monroeville, Pennsylvania Monroeville is a Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is located about 10 miles east of Pittsburgh. Monroeville is a suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments. As ...

, where he starred in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. His senior year, Nicholson won PIAA gold medals in the 110 hurdles and 400-meter relay along with the state's 60-meter indoor hurdles title. He was named the ''

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Although it transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, it rem ...

'' Male Athlete of the Year. Regarded as a four-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Nicholson was ranked as the No. 13 safety prospect in the class of 2014. He chose Michigan State over offers from

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, among others.

College career

Nicholson attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

Professional career

Washington Redskins

2017

The

selected Nicholson in the fourth round (123rd overall) of the

. On May 11, 2017, Nicholson signed a four-year, 3 million contract. Throughout training camp, he competed for the job as a backup safety against

Will Blackmon William Edwards Blackmon (born October 27, 1984) is a former American football safety and return specialist. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles, and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Pack ...

Deshazor Everett Deshazor Dontee’ Everett (born February 22, 1992) is an American football strong safety and special teamer who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas A&M. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 201 ...

, Earl Wolff, Josh Evans,

Stefan McClure Stefan Arnaz McClure (born January 31, 1993) is an American football coach and former strong safety who is currently the corner backs coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU). He played college football at the University of California, Berke ...

, and

Fish Smithson Anthony “Fish” Smithson (born March 18, 1994) is a former American football free safety. He played college football at the University of Kansas. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He also played for ...

. Head coach

Jay Gruden Jay Michael Gruden (born March 4, 1967) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is an offensive consultant for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the Washington ...

named him the backup strong safety, behind Deshazor Everett, to begin the regular season after the original starting strong safety,

Su'a Cravens Su'a Kristopher Cravens (born July 7, 1995) is a former American football strong safety. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Cravens played the linebacker pos ...

, announced his decision to retire a week before their season-opener. Montae Nicholson (36593715674)

He made his professional regular season debut in the Washington Redskins' season-opening 30–17 loss to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. On September 17, 2017, Nicholson earned his first career start and made two solo tackles in the Redskins' 27–20 victory at the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

in Week 2. Defensive coordinator

Greg Manusky Gregory Manusky (born August 12, 1966) is an American football coach who is the inside linebacker coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. Manusky started his coaching career as a linebacker coach for two teams over six se ...

opted to use Nicholson in nickel packages and Everett in base formations. In Week 3, Nicholson recorded a solo tackle, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception off a pass by

Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, where he twice received first-team All- MWC honors, and wa ...

during a 27–10 victory against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. On October 15, 2017, he recorded a season-high six combined tackles and broke up a pass, but left in the second quarter of the Redskins' 26–24 win against the San Francisco 49er after sustaining a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

. His concussion occurred in the last 45 seconds of the half after Nicholson attempted to tackle wide receiver

Pierre Garcon Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French language, French form of the name Peter (given name), Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via ...

, but lowered shoulder and took a blow directly to his head that knocked off his helmet and rendered him unconscious. His concussion sidelined him for the next two games (Weeks 9–10). On November 18, 2017, he made four solo tackles before leaving in the third quarter of the Redskins' 20–10 victory against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

after receiving another concussion. On December 19, 2017, Nicholson was placed on injured reserve. He finished his rookie season with 24 combined tackles (18 solo), two pass deflections, and an interception in eight games and six starts.

2018

Nicholson entered the 2018 season as the Redskins starting free safety alongside strong safety

D. J. Swearinger Dayarlo Jamal Swearinger Sr. ( ; born September 1, 1991) is an American football strong safety for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He played college football at South Carolina and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2013 ...

. He started the first seven games before losing the starting job in Week 9 after the Redskins traded for Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix. He was placed on the reserve/NFI list on December 19, 2018 following an assault and battery arrest.

2019

In week 2 against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, Nicholson recorded his first interception of the season off

Dak Prescott Rayne Dakota Prescott (born July 29, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State, where he twice received first-team All- SEC honors, a ...

and returned it 23 yards as the Redskins lost 31–21. In week 5 against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, Nicholson intercepted

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

once in the 33–7 loss. He was placed on injured reserve on December 27, 2019. He finished the season with 62 tackles, four passes defensed, and two interceptions through 13 starts. He was waived on March 23, 2020, with a failed physical designation.

DC Defenders

Nicholson signed with the

of the

on March 8, 2023. He was placed on the team's reserve list on April 18, and activated on May 16.

Personal life

On December 18, 2018, Nicholson was arrested and charged with public swearing, intoxication, and misdemeanor assault in Ashburn, Virginia. The charges were dropped in May 2019. On November 14, 2019, it was reported that the

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

Sheriff's Office was investigating Nicholson regarding the death of 21 year-old Julia Crabbe. On the night of Crabbe's death, Nicholson and another man were identified as the ones who drove Crabbe to a hospital. Crabbe's cause of death was linked to drug overdose, with Nicholson not being officially charged.

References

External links

*
Michigan State bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Montae 1995 births Living people African-American players of American football American football safeties Michigan State Spartans football players People from Monroeville, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Washington Redskins players 21st-century African-American sportspeople DC Defenders players