USC QB Commit Malachi Nelson Has 'Real Interest' in Texas A&M

Could the Aggies flip one of the nation's top signal callers?

After the decommitment of Eli Holstein and the decisions of Jaden Rashada, Dante Moore, and Austin Novosad to head elsewhere, the Texas A&M Aggies remain in search of a quarterback to add to the 2023 class.

As it happens, the Aggies landed a surprise visit from arguably the nation's top quarterback prospect, Los Alamitos (CA) QB Malachi Nelson, for their annual pool party recruiting event. 

And according to 247 Sports recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, the interest following the visit between Nelson and the Aggies has become very real.

"Talked to some people that spent some time with Malachi," Wiltfong said. "Purely from a Texas A&M angle, I think that people think it’s going to be hard for Texas A&M to flip Malachi Nelson from USC and his ties to Lincoln Riley and his love for that offense and certainly his ties to the area and helping USC build this class. But I think that they believe that the interest in A&M is real."

Nelson has been committed to Lincoln Riley since the very early stages of his recruitment, pledging to Oklahoma in July of 2021.

He then de-committed from the Sooners in November of 2021 and followed Riley to USC, along with several other Oklahoma commitments and transfers.

Now, however, Nelson is beginning to look elsewhere. And thanks to the national success of previous California quarterbacks before him, the thought of leaving the west coast once again doesn't seem so crazy. 

"The thought of playing elsewhere — outside of L.A. — is also real when Malchi Nelson can use Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud as a resource and lend their ear, and those guys talking about what great experiences they had leaving L.A. and thriving at Alabama, thriving at Ohio State,” Wiltfong said. “I think that those comments and those conversations have resonated with him enough to maybe make sure that he has dotted the Is and crossed the Ts on his recruitment."

Either way, it will likely be quite the tall task for Jimbo Fisher to flip Nelson from Riley before he signs on the dotted line. 

With that said, it would be foolish to count the Aggies out of any recruitment until it is over, as they have proven time and time again. 

Not only would Nelson qualify as a huge win for the Aggies (perhaps the biggest in the 2023 cycle), but he would arguably be seen as a massive upgrade over Holstein and perhaps even Conner Weigman. 

Yes, he is that good.

In fact, Nelson is one of the most sought-after recruits in the country and will be a challenger for both the No. 1 quarterback spot and the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 SI99 recruiting rankings upon their release in the coming weeks.

Currently, Nelson ranks as the No. 2 overall quarterback behind Texas commit Arch Manning per the 247 Sports and On3 recruiting rankings and sits ahead of Manning as the No. 1 overall recruit in the country in the ESPN 300.

Nelson has put up gaudy stats in three seasons at the varsity level for Los Alamitos, completing 319 of 438 passes for 5,086 yards and 70 touchdowns with 17 interceptions. 

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You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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