In-State 2-Way Star Blake Nichelson Picks Up UCLA Football Offer
The Bruins have been recruiting one Northern California linebacker for nearly a year, and the blue and gold have finally gotten around to sending him an offer.
Class of 2023 linebacker Blake Nichelson picked up a scholarship offer from UCLA football on Monday, he announced on Twitter. The Bruins had been courting Nichelson as far back as September 2021, when Don Pellum and Jason Kaufusi were the linebacker coaches on the staff.
Since then, though Ken Norton Jr. has taken over as the inside linebackers coach, and he is the one who sent Nichelson his offer. In the mean time, the Manteca (CA) prospect has picked up offers from Boston College, Arizona, Washington, Arizona State, San Jose State, Cal, Utah State, Washington State, Utah, USC, Nebraska, Oregon and Florida State.
After visiting Fresno State and Nevada for games last fall and USC, Oregon, Cal and Utah earlier this spring, Nichelson has officials booked for Florida State and Oregon in mid-June.
Nichelson's recruitment picked up a lot of steam after his breakout junior season. He racked up 49 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception. Nichelson was named Valley Oak League Defensive Player of the Year, as well as making First Team All-League and a two-way player.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Nichelson also saw his production explode on the other side of the ball, suiting up as his team's starting running back as well. Nichelson went for 2,231 yards and 36 touchdowns on 208 carries, nearing leading the entire state in ground scores.
That puts Nichelson in the same camp as former two-way star Myles Jack, as well as another 2023 recruit who picked up offer over the weekend – linebacker-running back hybrid Mone Malafu. The Bruins are targeting both as linebackers, but their two-way abilities could be useful with workhorse Zach Charbonnet expected to leave for the NFL next offseason and no succession plan set in stone.
Nichelson is a three-star linebacker, according to Rivals, ESPN and the 247Sports Composite, but he is a four-star by 247Sports' own system. While the other outlets have Nichelson ranked somewhere in the No. 30 to No. 50 range among California prospects, 247Sports has him at No. 11 in-state and No. 12 among all linebackers. Nichelson is 247Sports' top linebacker in California and top linebacker in the entire West region.
The multi-position recruit runs a 4.53-second 40-yard dash while boasting solid length for a linebacker should he remain at that position. In addition to appearing at the Under Armour Next Camp in Los Angeles on March 6, the National Preps Showcase Invitational in Northern California on April 16 and the ESPN 300 Elite Underclassmen Camp Powered by Under Armour in Northern California on May 15, Nichelson has also been invited to next year's Adidas All-American Bowl.
UCLA's linebacker corps will lose Ale Kaho after this season, but they could still have Darius Muasau, Kain Medrano, Damien Sellers, JonJon Vaughns and Jeremiah Trojan in house when 2023 rolls around. With just one 2022 linebacker commit, though, and the fact that most of those names will depart after 2023, the future of the position remains up in the air.
The Bruins have two commits for their 2023 class – receiver Grant Gray and safety-linebacker hybrid Ty Lee – as of Monday. Nichelson is now one of 42 uncommitted prospects with an offer from UCLA, meaning that recruiting class has plenty of room to grow in the coming months.
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