Inside The Huskies

Huskies Offer San Joaquin Valley LB, From DeBoer's Old Footprint

Blake Nichelson's first scholarship proposal came from Fresno State.

Dan Raley

With his long-flowing blond locks and California hipster vibe, Blake Nichelson looks like he belongs in front of a rock band or on top of a surfboard. Or in the movie "Remember the Titans."

However, Kalen DeBoer's University of Washington football staff envisions him coming off the edge with great ferocity and on Wednesday made him a scholarship offer. 

Nichelson is a swift 6-foot-3, 210-pound linebacker from Manteca High School who is no stranger to the new Husky staff — after running all over people in the San Joaquin Valley and receiving his first offer last summer from DeBoer's then-Fresno State recruiters as part of the class of 2023.

Blake Nichelson has a UW offer.
Blake Nichelson has that California vibe / Twitter

Instead, the new Husky coach will try to bring this guy north and put his 4.53-second 40-yard speed to good use. He's also a yard-churning running back besides a big hitter on defense. 

Nichelson is the first player from Fresno State's localized recruiting footprint that DeBoer has pursued on behalf of the UW. Manteca is 100 miles from Fresno, 75 miles east of San Francisco. He's a unique player.

“You could just tell from day one when he walked onto the field that he is a different kind of dude," Manteca football coach Mark Varnum, not to be confused with the Grand Funk Railroad front man, told the Stockton Record.

Nichelson comes off a junior season in which he rushed for 2,197 yards and 36 touchdowns, including one outing where he got loose for 187 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 4 carries. He had a 210-yard rushing output in a CIF sectional final. He caught passes for 7 more scores.

Defensively, he came up with 49 tackles, including 11 for lost yardage.

The recruiting analysts have him as a 3-star prospect, but they might be grading him more off his running-back potential. 

Nichelson currently holds offers from Arizona, Boston College, Oregon State, Fresno State and the Huskies. 

"He’s just a ridiculous athlete," Varnum told the Stockton Record.  "He's got all the measurables, size and speed. Such an explosive athlete. He is going to be a nightmare for anybody to try to game plan against or try to cover."

Blake Nickelson has UW office.
The Huskies want Blake Nichelson as a linebacker, but he's had a lot of success as a rusher / Graphic

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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