Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley added to his dominance at the quarterback position with another top-tier recruit. The quarterback whisperer has done it again. In one of the most publicized announcements of the Summer, the Sooners snagged another elite quarterback in 2023, five-star QB Malachi Nelson.
The No. 5 ranked player in the class chose the Crimson and Cream over Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, and USC. The California native from Los Alamitos attended Oklahoma’s Champ U BBQ in Norman and decided to join the list of prolific passers to come from Riley’s tutelage.
With Riley’s superb development of signal-callers, it is no surprise that top prospects want to grow under his leadership. Riley has landed a top quarterback in three consecutive odd-numbered years. He landed the consensus top player in the 2019 recruiting class in Spencer Rattler. Then he followed that up with 2021’s top player, Caleb Williams.
But looking ahead, what are the Oklahoma Sooners getting in Malachi Nelson?
He certainly checks all of the boxes as a highly-touted recruit. In digging deeper into his high school tape, it is no surprise Riley aggressively sought to bring Nelson to Norman.
The 6-3, 180-pound quarterback completed 85 of 115 attempts for 1,513 yards in 2020 for Los Alamitos High School. His effortless release mesmerized under the Friday night lights. He possesses a high football IQ and is an outstanding decision-maker. Nelson has the mobile aspect to his game to create outside of structure. He has the capability of throwing a deep ball with ease. He can throw with different arm angles while outside the pocket and is the kind of player you want leading the huddle.
Nelson is a rare natural passer, and his potential is limitless in Riley’s quarterback-friendly system. When his time comes, he will be a nightmare for defenses.