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OU QB Target Malachi Nelson Talks Top Schools Ahead of Commitment

The top quarterback in the 2023 class is committing on July 18.

Ryan Chapman

The commitment date for top 2023 quarterback Malachi Nelson is fast approaching.

On July 18, the 5-star prospect will verbally commit, and he has some of the top schools in the nation to pick from.

In an interview with On3 Sports’ Chad Simmons, Nelson said he’s narrowed his final schools down to Alabama, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida State, USC, LSU and Georgia.

“It’s crazy to finally be here. I’m blessed. I couldn’t have done it without a lot of people,” Nelson told Simmons. “As far as my mind being made up, I’m pretty set right now on where I want to go.”

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound quarterback has impressed during his time at Los Alamitos High School in California. A dual threat athlete, Nelson was lethal from the pocket during his 2020 season.

Throwing for 1,513 yards and 23 touchdowns, Nelson completed 74 percent of his passes and only threw four interceptions.

Nelson told Simmons that going through his recruitment process during a pandemic was difficult, but he considers himself lucky because it could have been a lot worse for him.

“It was a crazy time. It was hard for a lot of people. I was in a better position I guess you could say just because of being younger… so I didn’t really think about it too much,” Nelson said. “There’s a lot of seniors and people in the 2021 and 2022 classes that it kind of hurt them.”

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley hopes it will be an OU hat Nelson dons on July 18, which would continue the trend of landing the top quarterback every other year after Spencer Rattler signed on in 2019 and Caleb Williams joined the program in 2021. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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