Getty Image / Jayne Kamin-Oncea
Just a few years ago, pretty much everyone in football considered California prep quarterback Malachi Nelson to be the next big thing at the quarterback position. After a sensational junior season at Los Alamitos High School, he skyrocketed up recruiting rankings to be the number-one ranked player in the country at times on some sights.
When Nelson regressed as a senior, people didn’t think much of it, as his ranking only dropped a little bit and he mostly kept his five-star status, viewed as the heir apparent to then-USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Now, the former superstar has reached rock-bottom, as he was beat out in fall camp at Boise State, where he transferred after last season.
Instead, it will be redshirt sophomore Maddux Madsen who will take the field on the road against Clay Helton and Georgia Southern Week 1 for the Broncos.
Make no mistake, this is one of the biggest fall camp position battle upsets of the season. Not only was Nelson brought in and presumably paid by Boise State’s NIL boosters to be the starter, but Maddux Madsen missed spring ball with an injury!
Madsen was solid last year, though he only made one start, one that was shortened by an injury that ultimately kept him out of the rest of the season late in the year. He threw for 1,191 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions on just 132 attempts and added 120 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
It took a lot of guts by first-year head coach Spencer Danielson. Danielson is in his first year as a head coach at any level, and to eschew the much-expected starter in Malachi Nelson for Madsen showed that he’s in total command of the program.
As for Malachi Nelson, who has redshirt freshman eligibility this year, this may not be the end of the road, but it’s pretty close. Lincoln Riley essentially ran him off at USC, and this is another huge setback. The odds of him fulfilling what people thought was his potential seem slim at this point.