Los Alamitos, Calif. five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson included Ohio State in his top seven schools on July 11, along with Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and USC.
He also announced that he would be making his decision one week later, on July 18.
Nelson is ranked as the second-best quarterback and No. 5 overall prospect in the 2023 class. Greg Biggins, 247Sports national recruiting analyst, compared Nelson to current Chicago Bears quarterback and former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.
“Nelson has all the physical tools you could want in a next level signal caller. At 6-3, 180 pounds, he has an athletic body with plenty of room to grow pack on good weight. He’s a very fluid athlete in everything he does. He has a smooth, effortless release and the ball jumps out of his hand. He has a downfield arm, is accurate to all three levels of the field and can throw with touch and change speeds,” Biggins wrote. “He’s a mature quarterback and already shows a high football IQ in terms of his decision making and how well he processes the position. He’s a plus-athlete for a quarterback as well and shows the ability to extend plays and get out and pick up yards in the running game. He made a big jump this off-season and needs to show he can put it together with the pads on as a sophomore but no quarterback in the class has a higher ceiling right now then Nelson.”
If the Buckeyes are hoping to secure Nelson’s commitment, they will likely have to make up a lot of ground. Currently, Nelson has 10 crystal ball predictions, all of which are in favor of the Sooners.
Ohio State does not have a commitment at quarterback, or at any position, for the 2023 class to this point. Of course, the Buckeyes have done very well at the position recently, securing a five-star in both the 2021 (Kyle McCord) and 2022 (Quinn Ewers) classes.
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