Manteca Linebacker Blake Nichelson Set For Two Official Visits Heading Into Summer

The Ducks hosted Nichelson for the spring game as he makes his way through a national recruitment.

Oregon is still looking for its first linebacker in the 2023 class, and there's no shortage of great options on the West Coast. One prospect they've been in strong talks with is Manteca (Calif.) linebacker Blake Nichelson. 

Ducks Digest caught up with the Nor Cal product over the weekend at the ESPN Elite Underclassmen camp.

From Sunday: 2023 Oregon linebacker target Blake Nichelson runs the 40 @DucksDigest pic.twitter.com/tdc4E8cs5e

— Max Torres (@mtorressports) May 17, 2022

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound backer has been very busy on the recruiting trail, taking recent visits throughout the west region to Oregon, Oregon State, Cal, Utah and USC.

The Ducks hosted Nichelson for the spring game and made a solid impression on the 3-star (0.8820 per 247Sports Composite) prospect, giving him a solid feel for the game day environment in Eugene.

"It was great. Kind of just like getting back there again for the second time and just get to see everything again," said Nichelson. "But also when I went to the spring game, kind of get a feel for like how a normal game there feels with the fans and the atmosphere overall."

Manteca LB Blake Nichelson

Max Torres/Ducks Digest

Blake Nichelson goes through drills at the ESPN Elite Underclassmen camp in Oakland.

Two coaches on the Oregon staff, defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi and inside linebackers coach Jake Long, have emerged as lead recruiters for the Ducks.

"They're definitely good people. I can really talk to them about anything, just overall," he said. "They're easy people to talk to and someone that I can see as my coach, as well as someone that could like push me to do good. And obviously I know what they came from. I know they can send people to the league as well."

Manteca LB Blake Nichelson

Max Torres/Ducks Digest

Blake Nichelson has two official visits locked in to Oregon and Florida State.

The Ducks see Nichelson playing inside linebacker in Dan Lanning's defense, someone who's taken a personal approach and his recruitment and he got to spend plenty of time with on his recent trip to Eugene.

"Oh, he's great," he said of Lanning. "I've never like had any of those head coaches like Dan Lanning, like he's out there. When I went on my photo shoot, he's out there getting the pictures. That's never that's never happened to me before. 

"And then just coming over to my family-- at night they had this one meeting, he just came up to my dad, started talking to him just like on some just normal stuff. So he's definitely a relatable guy and just a super nice dude."

In addition to Oregon, four schools are separating themselves as those recruiting Nichelson the hardest.

"I'd probably say Nebraska, Oregon, Arizona State, Cal and Florida State." 

He has two official visits set for June, but has a couple other schools in mind for a visit.

"I have officials planned for Florida State (June 17) and Oregon (June 24-26) right now," said Nichelson. "I kind of want to go out and see either Nebraska or Washington or something like that."

Manteca LB Blake Nichelson

Max Torres/Ducks Digest

Blake Nichelson at the ESPN Elite Underclassmen camp in Oakland.

As for a decision, that could be coming over the summer.

"I'm not 100% sure yet, but I kind of do plan on committing before the season like in August or some time around there."

The Seminoles have a new energy on the recruiting trail behind head coach Mike Norvell, who's emerged as a lead recruiter for Florida State in their pursuit of the talented linebacker.

"I like the coaching staff. Like Coach (Randy) Shannon, he's another cool dude. He's constantly calling me, texting me, checking in on me. Coach (Mike) Norvell, he hits me up pretty constant too. They just show me a lot of love over there too." 

With some important visits coming in the near future, Nichelson is prioritizing development among other factors.

"I say what's most important to me is probably the coaching staff," he said. "Like if they show me a lot of  love and I can relate to them-- because obviously I'm going to be with them for four years. That's something that's important to me, but also somewhere I get developed at and just get better overall."

*WATCH BLAKE NICHELSON HIGHLIGHTS HERE*

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