UTEP head coach Scotty Walden discusses former USC QB Malachi Nelson's fresh start
Last year, Nelson was beaten out for the Broncos' starting job by Maddux Madsen. After Madsen led Boise State to the College Football Playoff, Nelson elected to hit the transfer portal once again. Now, he heads to El Paso, Texas, where he will play the 2025 season for UTEP.
In an interview with 247Sports Wednesday, UTEP head coach Scotty Walden discussed Nelson and his search for a fresh start with the program.
"Malachi is as talented as anyone I've ever coached," Walden said. "His arm talent is unbelievable. Now that he's here, I can see the game slowing down for him this summer, so that's been good to see. I can't speak for when he was recruited at USC or anything like that, but what I found so impressive about him in the recruiting process and even with him now was his humility," Walden said. "He's got a lot of humility. This guy genuinely loves ball. He wants to be the best. He knows when he does well and he knows when he needs to do better. I've been super impressed with his work ethic. I look at him in the weight room.
"When we recruited him, I called Kliff (Kingsbury), I called Lincoln (Riley) and I called Spencer Danielson at Boise and asked them all separately, because we do boot camp here: 'We're going to do mat drills and get after it. Is he going to want to do that or is he going to be into that?' They all said we wouldn't have any problems with that, and that's the truth. That kid came in, and when he gets in his competitive mode, he's a dog. His body has transformed. He looks great coming out of the weight room. I think his humility and work ethic is certainly there."
Nelson certainly has a ton of talent. However, he has yet to put it together on the field at the college level and win a starting job. Perhaps playing for Walden and UTEP will give Nelson the fresh start he needs in order to get his college football career on track.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
24 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Why five-star recruit Okunlola has stuck with UM, and Mirabal's forecast for him
In this world of instant gratification — where some college football players change schools two or three times in a single offseason — it would have been very easy for former five-star recruit Samson Okunlola to flee Coral Gables and look for a college where he could immediately step into a starting lineup. But Okunlola has displayed a quality in short supply in college sports: patience. Despite entering UM in 2023 regarded as one of the nation's top offensive tackles (247 Sports ranked him fourth among tackles and the 20th-best player overall), Okunlola hasn't complained about playing only 64 snaps on offense last season after logging just 15 as a freshman. He hasn't lamented riding the bench while his Class of 2023 teammate Francis Mauigoa, who was rated the No. 2 offensive tackle in 2023, has started for two years. Instead of entering the portal, Okunlola focused on his studies — he received his bachelor's degree in just 2 ½ years — and worked on his game. The growth has been so pronounced that offensive line coach Alex Mirabal said he's confident that Okunlola 'absolutely' will become a multiyear starter for UM — 'I have no doubt about that' — even though he's not expected to start at the beginning of this season, barring injuries. 'He's going to make it because of his work ethic and want-to, which are unbelievable,' Mirabal said during a recent conversation. 'He has done an unbelievable job [improving]. There are 17 ACC schools; he can start at all of them. He has displayed a tremendous amount of a thing people nowadays lack, which is patience. He's trusting in his work. With his intelligence, he's going to achieve what we all want him to achieve.' Asked if he ever considered leaving, Okunlola suggested he hasn't, though he didn't answer directly. 'I'm committed to the process,' he said. 'I love the process. I love hard work. I love being detailed and getting better.' Mirabal said: 'I tell people all the time — the fans, the media, coaches, they complain about how negative the transfer portal is. And then they question the kid, 'How come you stuck around? How come you haven't jumped in the portal?' I truly believe it's because Samson knows and sees that our coaching staff believes in him and trusts him. I feel he believes in us and trusts us, as does his family. He sees himself growing and developing.' Okunlola's willingness to learn guard has made him more versatile. He now could fill in at four positions if UM has an injury to a starting group that is expected to include Markel Bell and Mauigoa at tackle, Michael McCoy and Anez Cooper at guard and James Brockermeyer at center. Ryan Rodriguez figures to be the backup center and backup left guard. Asked what is Okunlola's best position, Mirabal said, 'it used to be tackle, and I still think it's tackle. But he can play guard. A lot of young guys think 'I'm only a tackle.'… He has grown past [that]. Over the last year and a half, he's like, 'I'm an O-lineman. I'll do whatever it takes.' 'I used to think he's only going to be a tackle. But he's a guy in my opinion that can play either tackle or guard spots.' Okunlola said Mirabal, during the past two years, has encouraged him to 'work on the mental side of the game, watching more film, being more confident in the way I play.' He's healthy now, after sustaining a torn MCL as a freshman, then needing surgery on a hand injury suffered during a UM bowl practice last December. Asked if he has felt any frustration not playing after entering UM as a ballyhooed prospect, Okunlola said: 'I leave it up to the Lord. The Lord has been with me through the whole process.' Okunlola, who was an excellent student at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts, recently joined backup quarterback Emory Williams as the only current Canes to graduate in 2 ½ years. 'It's definitely an honor,' Okunlola said. 'My mother cried about it. It was a big thing for me and my family.' He's now pursuing a master's degree in sports administration, taking classes exclusively on line. 'I can put more of my time in person to be in person more for football,' he said. 'And online, I can play with my schedule a little more.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Florida star QB DJ Lagway's injury raises concern about College Football Playoff run
It doesn't matter how it happened, only that it did. And that the long- and short-term future for one of college football's top young players is now in question. Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is quickly becoming Mr. Glass. Shoulder, hamstring and core injuries in his first year in Gainesville, and now a calf injury in fall camp. 'I'm not an injury-prone guy,' Lagway said last month during SEC media days. Then a left calf strain arrived before the start of fall camp, and now the inevitable is here: when and how could the glass crack again? Lagway missed time or didn't participate full-go throughout the entire offseason, multiple injuries not only stalling his development - but also leaving the Gators' 2025 resurgence in question. In one short year, Lagway's injury timeline has moved from unlucky to unnerving. Whether it's increased level of competition, intensity of training or just plain bad luck, four injuries (two relatively serious) before the start of Lagway's second season is cause for concern. More problematic: it's not a long or difficult a jump from calf strain to a much bigger problem. Especially since we've seen it of late among the greatest athletes in sports. Aaron Rodgers and Tyrese Halliburton dealt with calf strains in the last two years, and both strains preceded season-ending Achilles injuries. Kevin Durant's Achilles injury in 2019 started with a calf strain, too. But before we go down that rabbit hole and scuttle the season for a rising star quarterback and a team with College Football Playoff hopes, before we make too much of Lagway wearing a compression wrap on his left calf in practice, maybe he's not Mr. Glass at all. Maybe he just got dinged more times than most. 'The whole injury thing, for the most part, is relatively new for me,' Lagway said last month, and he hasn't spoke to media since. 'I feel better than I ever have right now.' It was last month when Lagway admitted to USA TODAY Sports that the throwing shoulder injury didn't occur during his breakout freshman season as most believed, but that it was something he dealt with the entire season. A season in which he won every game he started and finished. His 6-1 record overall as a starter included a lone loss to Georgia, where he left late in the second quarter with a hamstring injury — with the Gators leading 10-3. Other than that, Lagway's freshman season (even with modest numbers) was high-level production in the nation's most difficult conference. He has had soreness in the shoulder since high school, and has typically used rehabilitation instead of surgery to overcome pain and stiffness. The shoulder injury (and the core injury) forced him to miss throwing in spring practice. Then the calf injury showed up before fall camp, and despite the soreness, Lagway has been throwing and looks sharper than ever. The only question now: will the calf hold up? 'The guy's been working hard all summer,' Florida coach Billy Napier said earlier this week. 'Certainly, hopefully, he'll be able to do more and more as we go day-to-day.' That's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it's also all Napier and Florida have to hold. Because with Lagway, Florida is a legitimate threat to reach the College Football Playoff. Without him – and with sixth-year nomad Harrison Bailey or former walk-on Aidan Warner playing quarterback – the Gators may have problems reaching bowl eligibility. Earlier this week, former Alabama coach Nick Saban – speaking during his Nick's Kid's Foundation event – said five teams could win the SEC this season. One of those teams was Florida. ARCH MADNESS: Rumors with Nick Saban and Cleveland Browns are plain dumb TOUGH ROADS: College football toughest schedules based on preseason poll Even with the uncertainty of Lagway's health, or the nation's toughest schedule. Which, frankly, Napier and the team are getting tired of talking about. Spot the ball, they all say now. Doesn't matter that the schedule includes games away from Gainesville against Georgia, LSU, Miami, Texas A&M and Mississippi, and home games against Texas and Tennessee, Florida played the same schedule last year. And by the end of the regular season (and with a healthy Lagway), the Gators were playing as well as anyone in the SEC. There's a lot to like about this Florida team, one that Napier has patiently and organically built through high school recruiting instead of relying on the crapshoot that is the transfer portal. An experienced and deep offensive line, some of the SEC's best young skill players and a defense that developed last year with Lagway. In the six games Lagway started and completed, the Florida defense gave up an average of 13.1 points per game. In the other seven games, the Gators gave up an average of 31.5. 'He makes everyone better,' Napier said. 'That's what rare players do.' If they can stay on the field. Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida faces DJ Lagway injury concern ahead of playoff run
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Preseason US LBM Coaches Poll overlooks quarterback inexperience at top of rankings
They say it over and over. The game is all about the quarterback. Those who have experience at the most important position on the field, college football coaches insist, win big games. Unless, apparently, you're a blue blood program. So while you stare at the first US LBM Coaches Poll of the 2025 college football season, don't ignore the glaring reality staring back. Five of the top eight teams have first-time starters at the most important position on the field. 'The quarterback is critical to everything you do,' Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. 'There's no getting around it.' It is here where we introduced Texas, Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Alabama. All among the top 10 in the Coaches Poll, and all preseason favorites to reach the College Football Playoff — and possibly much more. All with first-time, full-time starters. If you think the CFP selection committee has problems ranking teams, the 67 coaches shouldn't get pass on criticism, either. There's a whole lot of funky in the first Coaches Poll, beginning at the top with teams ranked on reputation. Not their critical quarterback component. The quarterbacks at those five blue bloods – teams with a combined 119-23 record over the last two seasons – have combined to throw 262 career passes. Arch Manning of Texas has never started an SEC road game, and his only SEC start came last season against tomato can Mississippi State. Gunner Stockton of Georgia has never started an SEC game. CJ Carr of Notre Dame, Julian Sayin of Ohio State and Ty Simpson of Alabama have never started a game. Think about this: college football coaches have essentially told you they believe in a group of quarterbacks who, on average, have 50 career throws each. Maybe this isn't the layup everyone thinks it is. Maybe we're on the verge of a wild ride through the 2025 season, where the unknown unfolds into the unthinkable. Especially considering there's much more to this quarterback story than just first-time, full-time starters. Texas is preseason No.1 for the first time in school history, more hype baggage (and expectations) for Manning to carry before the first snap of the season. After back-to-back national titles in 2021-22, Georgia missed the CFP in 2023 and last year sustained an ugly loss in the quarterfinals — and suddenly looks vulnerable. Ohio State is completely rebuilt on both sides of the ball (only nine starters return), and all Sayin has to do is defend a national title. And beat Michigan for the first time since 2019. Simpson begins his fourth season at Alabama, a program that owned the four-team CFP under former coach Nick Saban — but couldn't make the first 12-team field in 2024. Simpson is merely carrying that weight, OK? ARCH MADNESS: Manning rumor madness with Nick Saban and Cleveland Browns GOOD FIGHT: Deion Sanders is stepping up in biggest battle of career Then there's Carr, a talented redshirt freshman who was given the keys to a championship-level team after Irish coach Marcus Freeman declined to add an experienced quarterback from the transfer portal — and go all-in with the unknown. 'I feel like the experience from last year is invaluable,' Stockton said. That 'experience' consisted of the second half of the SEC championship game victory over Texas, and the CFP quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame. Manning's experience is a home game against the worst team in the SEC, and a home game against lightweight Louisiana-Monroe. Simpson's most extended time on the field was two years ago in a tight win over South Florida, when he replaced starter Tyler Buchner and was essentially the best of two bad options. Carr and Sayin will take their first legitimate college football snaps in the season opener, both in monster non-conference games. Notre Dame plays at Miami, and Ohio State plays host to Texas. 'You want command of the offense," said Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who insists Sayin is still competing with junior Lincoln Kienholz – who has also never started a game – for the starting job. 'When you stand in there as a quarterback, you want everyone to believe in you. You want them to follow your command.' That's all it takes? This will be a cakewalk. Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football preseason poll full of quarterback ineperience
