BOISE, Idaho — Former USC quarterback Malachi Nelson is set to take his first official visit to Boise State this weekend after entering the transfer portal on Dec. 17, sources told KTVB Sports Director Jay Tust.
The California native is one of the more highly-coveted young quarterbacks currently in the transfer portal. Nelson committed to USC and enrolled early in the spring of 2022 after graduating a semester early from Los Alamitos High School.
Nelson was a five-star prospect, ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the nation on ESPN after being named the 2022 Gatorade California Player of the Year. 247Sports tabbed Nelson as the No. 5 quarterback and No. 13 prospect in the country in the class of 2023.
He redshirted this past season after taking four snaps with the Trojans, meaning he has four years of eligibility remaining. With a 247 Composite rating of .9951, Nelson would be the highest-rated recruit Boise State has ever landed by a wide margin, surpassing Dylan Sumner-Gardner's rating of .9623.
The well-known recruit had offers from everywhere coming out of high school, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and more. Nelson was named a 2023 Under Armour All-American, a 2023 Polynesian Bowl All-Star, and the 2021 Gatorade California Player of the Year as a junior on varsity.
As a senior at Los Alamitos, Nelson was 192-for-286 (67.1%) passing, with 2,898 yards, 35 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 153 yards and a pair of scores on 23 carries. He played all four years on varsity and finished with 7,984 passing yards, 503 rushing yards and 110 total touchdowns.
Miami – after losing out on former Washington State quarterback Cam Ward, who declared for the 2024 NFL Draft – is also reportedly recruiting Nelson.
Following Taylen Green's decision to transfer to Arkansas, Boise State's 2024 quarterback room consists of Maddux Madsen (R-So.), CJ Tiller (R-Fr.), Colt Fulton (R-Jr.), Max Cutforth (R-Fr.) and true freshman Kaleb Annett.
During his press conference on National Signing Day, head coach Spencer Danielson said the Broncos were "working on it as we speak," when asked about landing a quarterback out of the transfer portal. He added it was "all about the right fit" for Boise State.
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