Like Aaron Jones, New Packers RB Lew Nichols Has What It Takes

Get to know new Green Bay Packers running back Lew Nichols III through the eyes of the man who coached him at Central Michigan and Aaron Jones at UTEP.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
May 13, 2023 9:07 AM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Central Michigan running backs coach Cornell Jackson has sent a handful of players to the NFL. The stories he tells help instruct the next batch of running backs, including Green Bay Packers seventh-round pick Lew Nichols III.

“Like every young man coming to college, they don’t really know everything,” Jackson told Packer Central last week. “By me doing this for so long, I have stories to tell guys. ‘So, listen up and let’s go to work.’”

Jackson’s star pupil is Nichols’ new teammate, Packers star Aaron Jones.

“He came up in those stories quite a bit,” Jackson said with a laugh. “If they buy into the stories, they’re going to have success.”

At 5-foot-9 and 208 pounds, Jones is small but sturdy. At 5-foot-10 and 220 pounds, Nichols is big and burly. Nonetheless, there are similarities.

“The thing that’s similar is both those guys really, really, truly worked to understand football,” Jackson said. “Jones did the same thing when I coached him – a student of the game. Lew loves football; once again, a student of the game.

“That was the thing that helped Aaron. Don’t get me wrong, he’s got great athletic ability, but athletic ability and a student of the game is a plus. Lew has good athletic ability; a student of the game is a plus. I’ll tell you what, you never know, but if things work out and they become teammates for a long time, that’d be huge.”

Nichols burst onto the scene with a colossal 2021 season in which he rushed for 1,848 yards (5.4 average) and 16 touchdowns and caught 40 passes for 338 yards (8.5 average) and one touchdown. He ranked first nationally in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, all-purpose yards and all-purpose yards per game.

It was a much different story in 2022. Nichols plunged to 616 rushing yards (3.5 average) and 21 receptions for 128 yards (6.1 average).

What happened?

First, he was a marked man. Defenses weren’t going to let the MAC Player of the Year get rolling, especially after the passing game lost its top three receivers (two to graduation, one to injury). According to Sports Info Solutions, he ran into a heavy box 27 percent of the time in 2022 compared to 15 percent in 2021.

Second, the team’s two top linemen became NFL rookie starters when right tackle Luke Goedeke was drafted in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and left tackle Bernhard Raimann was selected in the third round by the Indianapolis Colts.

“And we had a tight end who wasn’t an NFL tight end but, I’ll tell you what, he was a heck of a college football player,” Jackson said. “We just had a good team. Those guys blocking up front for Lew did a great job. It works hand in hand.”

Nichols had to fight for every inch in 2022. And that’s what he did.

“If something messes up, you’ve still got the ball and you’ve got to make something happen” Jackson said. “You just can’t fall down and he didn’t. He’s a big, powerful kid who understands defensive schemes.”

The Packers have a long-standing preference for three-down backs. With 61 catches the last two seasons, Nichols fits the mold.

“He’s got really good hands,” Jackson said. “He’s got soft hands, which is why we call him ‘Sweet Lew.’ He’s got soft hands and he can go get it. How many times do you send a back on a vertical route? Not often. But checkdowns, flats, he’s got good hands.”

Nichols was used more in pass protection than all but one drafted running back, according to SIS. The only sack he allowed in his career was in the final game of his career, according to Pro Football Focus.

“Like every back, whether he’s in the NFL, whether he’s in college or whether he’s in junior high, you’ve got to improve on protection,” Jackson said. “Everybody’s going to want you to protect that guy they’re paying $84 million, you know what I’m saying? I told Jones, ‘When you go into the league, anybody can run. What you’ve got to work on is pass protection.’ That’s all of them. If you can protect that quarterback, you’re going to be around.”

Having sent Jones, J.R. Redmond and Terrelle Smith to NFL careers, Jackson knows what it takes. Why is Nichols going to make it?

Here’s what he told scouts.

“The kid’s got some dog in him. If you’ve got some dog in you and some hunger in you, you’re going to make it in the league. Our offense is an NFL offense, so the kid’s been doing it for four years. He’s going to have to learn the terminology but they’re the same plays we ran here. Talking to him, it’s like I’m having a conversation with the coach. It was the same thing with Jones. I never had to keep explaining something to Lew or Jones. Those guys, we had conversations. He’s a sharp kid; I mean sharp. …

“He’s not playing for the check. He loves football. He never missed practice, never missed weights, never missed nothing. I didn’t have to worry about him coming in late. In 35 years in coaching, you don’t get that every year.”