UCLA Football Target Blake Nichelson Announces Commitment Date
The Bruins now have a timeline to work with for one of their top remaining defensive targets.
Class of 2023 linebacker Blake Nichelson announced Thursday that he would be making his verbal commitment on Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. live on YouTube with 247Sports. Nichelson previously announced on July 4 that he had narrowed his list of finalists to Oregon, Florida State and UCLA football.
The Manteca (CA) product was also sitting on offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College, BYU, Cal, Fresno State, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon State, San Jose State, USC, Utah, Utah State, Washington and Washington State.
Back in early July, experts at 247Sports, Rivals and On3 had all published official predictions that Nichelson would wind up committing to the Ducks, and On3's Recruiting Prediction Machine gave Oregon a 96.7% chance to reel him in. Once September rolled around, though, the sentiment had changed – all six Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports were for Florida State, and the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine was giving the Seminoles a 97.4% chance to secure Nichelson's commitment.
Nichelson took official visits to Oregon and Florida State in June, and while he did come to Westwood for an unofficial in late May, he has yet to use an official to see UCLA.
UCLA entered the race for Nichelson relatively late, only extending a scholarship offer to him on May 9. The previous defensive staff had their eye on Nichelson as far back as September 2021, but several other schools outpaced the Bruins in the early stages of his recruitment before Ken Norton Jr. took over as inside linebackers coach in the spring.
247Sports, ESPN and On3 have Nichelson pegged as a four-star recruit, while Rivals has him rated as a three-star prospect. In the 247Sports Composite, Nichelson ranks as the No. 15 recruit in California, the No. 19 linebacker in the country and the No. 245 overall prospect in his class. Nichelson is the top-ranked linebacker – committed or otherwise – in California.
Nichelson racked up 49 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception his junior year at Manteca. Nichelson was named Valley Oak League Defensive Player of the Year, also making First Team All-League as a two-way player.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Nichelson suited up as his team's starting running back as well. Nichelson went for 2,231 yards and 36 touchdowns on 208 carries, nearly leading the entire state in ground scores.
Nichelson runs a 4.53-second 40-yard dash while boasting solid length for a linebacker. In addition to appearing at the Under Armour Next Camp in Los Angeles on March 6, the National Preps Showcase Invitational in Northern California on April 16 and the ESPN 300 Elite Underclassmen Camp in Northern California on May 15, Nichelson has also been invited to next year's Adidas All-American Bowl and Polynesian Bowl.
UCLA already has two linebacker commits for its 2023 recruiting class – St. John Bosco (CA) hybrid safety Ty Lee and Mater Dei Catholic (CA) four-star Tre Edwards. the latter of whom is the No. 2 linebacker in California. However, the Bruins lost out on Cade Uluave and Hayden Moore to Cal and Nebraska, respectively, in June, dinging their hit rate at linebacker a bit.
When Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (CA) three-star Jerry Mixon committed to Oregon in August, UCLA took another step back at the position. Once Nichelson makes his commitment public, Kapaa (HI) four-star Solomone Malafu will be the only linebacker target remaining on the Bruins' recruiting board.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF BLAKE NICHELSON/TWITTER
