Stanford football's Brandon Nicholson making most of every opportunity

Brandon Nicholson has been very promising during his freshman and has given Stanford confidence that he can be a big part of the defensive backfield over these next few years.

MUS Brandon Nicholson (0) runs with the ball during the game between Briarcrest Christian School and Memphis University School in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, October 26, 2023. MUS defeated Briarcrest 45-14. / Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

At 2-6, the Stanford Cardinal are looking ahead to the future, looking to see what pieces they can work with to bring gridiron success back to The Farm. This year’s team has featured a lot of young faces looking to make a name for themselves both within the program and in college football, hoping to cement a legendary legacy for themselves. For Brandon Nicholson, a long-awaited time to shine has finally come, as the freshman cornerback has quickly burst onto the scene since making his debut against Notre Dame.

With injuries decimating the program this season, it has allowed Nicholson, along with other freshmen such as Cam Richardson, the opportunity to showcase their skills. While seeing teammates go down and have to miss time is never something that anyone wants to have happen, Nicholson is grateful that all of his hard work to prepare is paying off.

“I’m totally grateful for the opportunity,” Nicholson said. “Obviously, coming in as a freshman and just working and being able to be blessed with the opportunity is something that I don’t take for granted. I tried to maintain a routine all through the season, whether I was playing or not. And so now that the opportunity has come, I feel like me and Cam are prepared and we’re ready. The coaches have faith in us, other teammates on the defense and our whole coaching staff have faith in us. So we just have to go out there, trust our coaching and trust our techniques and just go out there and perform.” 

In three games played, Nicholson has recorded 14 tackles, including five solo against SMU, and has evolved into an exceptional open field tackler, not always common for a cornerback. He's worked on that ability extensively so that he can come up big on a tackle if the opportunities present themselves.

“It’s definitely developed,” Nicholson said of his open field tackling. “Especially from when I was in high school. We focus on tackling drills constantly in practice and also at least once a week we [work on it] for our position drills. So I think that’s something I’ve improved a lot since I’ve gotten here from high school. And so, I think it’s been great to see it really pay off on the field for me.”

College football is a big adjustment from the high school level, and while Nicholson knew what to expect when he started his Stanford career, getting his first taste of game action has allowed him to see firsthand what this level of football is like, and knows that the more he plays, the more accustomed he will get to everything.

“The biggest adjustment has been the speed of the game,” Nicholson said. “Especially a lot of these offenses that we’ve played are really tempo and it’s really going. And so just getting adjusted to that and just settling in. Obviously the first time playing, you’re gonna have some nerves. You’re gonna have some possible doubts but especially for me, after these first few games, you start to settle in [and] you feel like you belong. You feel like you can come here and make plays and make an impact. So obviously, that's part of the coaching staff giving us the confidence in our teammates too. I just feel like as each game goes on, you get more confident in the system.”

One of the harder parts about being a defensive back is knowing the tendencies of the receivers you are covering, with speed and size being just two examples of major factors that can vary from week-to-week. Luckily, Nicholson is big on film, and incorporates film study as a big part of his weekly routine when preparing for opponents, knowing full well how beneficial it can be to always be one step ahead.

“Film, for everybody on the team, is a focal point,” Nicholson said. “You need to be able to go out there and succeed and so for me personally, it starts on a Monday to try to familiarize myself with the opponent. Throughout the week, from scout teams to every meeting we have, the coaches only give us so much information and so obviously, there’s a little extra film study from me, watching over practice, me and teammates getting together and asking what they see, and what other coaches see. And so just by the time we get to that game time, you feel as prepared as you can and ready to go.”

The Cardinal will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina this week and for Nicholson, who is originally from Memphis, this game will be an important one for him. Raleigh is not super close to Memphis, but it is in the Southern United States, which is in Nicholson’s stomping grounds, meaning that when he steps out onto the field on Saturday, he will do so in front of some of his family members, who will make the journey to go watch him do what he loves.

“My parents will be there,” Nicholson said. “And they’ve done a great job, I’m so grateful for them, coming out to a couple of games here and a couple of games on the road. I got to see them a good bit of time. I have some other close family in Virginia that are also making the trip down there, so it will be good to see them as well.”