Class of 2023 QB Malachi Nelson (CA) TRANSFERRING TO SYRACUSE (1/16/26)

[djorange1989]

Weird thread. Hating on a young man wanting to come here to compete

Nah we are having fun. Very happy to have him here

 

[CIL]

A lot of hate for a low risk high reward pick up. I like this a lot.

 

[orangefog]

A lot of hate for a low risk high reward pick up. I like this a lot.

Yeah, assuming he is getting VERY little NIL, this is a no brainer. If our coaches magically unlock this very talented QB, then we will all be REALLY happy. Otherwise, he fades away.

 

[baggerbob]

Yeah, assuming he is getting VERY little NIL, this is a no brainer. If our coaches magically unlock this very talented QB, then we will all be REALLY happy. Otherwise, he fades away.

It looks like he can hit receivers in stride, and can run with the football. If somehow the mental part comes together you have a nice backup.

 

[qdawgg]

I sleep all night, I work all day

I pick things up and set things down

 

[Ttk.gman2]

Weird thread. Hating on a young man wanting to come here to compete

It’s sad

 

[Irt4su]

Maybe this kid can play tight end? We did it with Villari.

 

[CbusCuse]

The more I look into this, I think this is a no brainer excellent pickup. At the very least, he is a great practice piece to add to the mix.

We have Angeli as QB1 “fingers crossed”. We have Odom who we all expect to be QB2. We added Lauter who is hopefully serviceable. I mean this kid is exactly what we want after picking Odom up. It’s not easy to sign another talented player at this point. He is a guy that can compete for the QB2 role and has all of the tools to perform very well if he gets an opportunity and everything slows down. He is uber talented obviously after being ranked near the top of his recruiting class. You can see why if you watched his HS highlights. I’m pretty sure that he would be at least as good for us this coming season as Rickie was for us last year. A season in which Rickie was our #2 and was almost our #1 going into the year. He has certainly seen more college game time than Rickie had coming in.

Malachi was a top 13 OVERALL recruit in the country. Of course he was leaving USC if he didn’t see an immediate opportunity to see the field. At USC He played behind starting QB Caleb Williams and they had Miller Moss in the wings.

He transferred to Boise State who typically has good QB’s as well. That season they had a QB in Madsen who put up 3000 passing yards, 23 TD’s and 6 INT’s and was returning for the 2025 season. Of course he’s going to transfer again. He wants to play.

He gets to UTEP and was still just a redshirt Sophomore. He’s QB1 to start the season and gets benched in the middle of his 6th game against Liberty, after passing for 1163 yds, 55%, 8TD’s and 9 INT’s. Not good but this was really his first time seeing action.

Not that it matters much but his replacement at UTEP put up pretty much identical stats to Malachi. He really didn’t perform any better than him. I know his stats were not good but he was also playing on a squad who had 2 wins in 2025 and just 3 wins the year prior. Not much talent there.

this was his first time as a starter in college. Not every player lights it up immediately when they get their shot. Especially if they are playing Ina bad team. Some take a bit longer to adapt to playing at a higher level. He’s only played 5 1/2 games. He could still be pretty good yet in college and I don’t think it’s necessarily a long shot.

Take Amari Odom for example who we are all very happy to pick up after having a very solid season after he transferring to Kennesaw state. But the year prior he had started 8 games for Wofford in his first starting opportunity. He put up 1565 yds passing at 55%, and just 7 TD’s and 6 INT’s. Sound similar. Not good. Let’s hope everything starts to click soon for Malachi. I’d a gamble on this player any day.

 

[wfschrec]

The more I look into this, I think this is a no brainer excellent pickup. At the very least, he is a great practice piece to add to the mix.

We have Angeli as QB1 “fingers crossed”. We have Odom who we all expect to be QB2. We added Lauter who is hopefully serviceable. I mean this kid is exactly what we want after picking Odom up. It’s not easy to sign another talented player at this point. He is a guy that can compete for the QB2 role and has all of the tools to perform very well if he gets an opportunity and everything slows down. He is uber talented obviously after being ranked near the top of his recruiting class. You can see why if you watched his HS highlights. I’m pretty sure that he would be at least as good for us this coming season as Rickie was for us last year. A season in which Rickie was our #2 and was almost our #1 going into the year. He has certainly seen more college game time than Rickie had coming in.

Malachi was a top 13 OVERALL recruit in the country. Of course he was leaving USC if he didn’t see an immediate opportunity to see the field. At USC He played behind starting QB Caleb Williams and they had Miller Moss in the wings.

He transferred to Boise State who typically has good QB’s as well. That season they had a QB in Madsen who put up 3000 passing yards, 23 TD’s and 6 INT’s and was returning for the 2025 season. Of course he’s going to transfer again. He wants to play.

He gets to UTEP and was still just a redshirt Sophomore. He’s QB1 to start the season and gets benched in the middle of his 6th game against Liberty, after passing for 1163 yds, 55%, 8TD’s and 9 INT’s. Not good but this was really his first time seeing action.

Not that it matters much but his replacement at UTEP put up pretty much identical stats to Malachi. He really didn’t perform any better than him. I know his stats were not good but he was also playing on a squad who had 2 wins in 2025 and just 3 wins the year prior. Not much talent there.

this was his first time as a starter in college. Not every player lights it up immediately when they get their shot. Especially if they are playing Ina bad team. Some take a bit longer to adapt to playing at a higher level. He’s only played 5 1/2 games. He could still be pretty good yet in college and I don’t think it’s necessarily a long shot.

Take Amari Odom for example who we are all very happy to pick up after having a very solid season after he transferring to Kennesaw state. But the year prior he had started 8 games for Wofford in his first starting opportunity. He put up 1565 yds passing at 55%, and just 7 TD’s and 6 INT’s. Sound similar. Not good. Let’s hope everything starts to click soon for Malachi. I’d take this player any day.

My big issue is he left because he was what afraid to what ... compete with Miller Moss? Moss is mid. So he comes here thinking he will unseat Angeli?

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Tools but poor performance means he's basically Collins without the baggage.

We keep the idea of a QB with upside but lost the association with our program's failures.

I see nothing wrong with taking that shot.

 

[djorange1989]

My big issue is he left because he was what afraid to what ... compete with Miller Moss? Moss is mid. So he comes here thinking he will unseat Angeli?

Then you are going to have an issue with 90% of QBs. Most of them are going to bail if they have to compete to be QB1. I am glad he thinks he can compete with Angeli, unrealistic though it is, maybe that will give him the desire he needs to step his game up. I know some folks here have been harsh, and I have thrown in a joke or two about him, but I’m really happy we have him. We have four QBs who have at least a decent amount of starting experience, especially compared to the room last season, and the backups the seasons before that

 

[orangepassion]

This definitely appears like a classic low-risk, high upside move.

 

[wfschrec]

Then you are going to have an issue with 90% of QBs. Most of them are going to bail if they have to compete to be QB1. I am glad he thinks he can compete with Angeli, unrealistic though it is, maybe that will give him the desire he needs to step his game up. I know some folks here have been harsh, and I have thrown in a joke or two about him, but I’m really happy we have him. We have four QBs who have at least a decent amount of starting experience, especially compared to the room last season, and the backups the seasons before that

Yet in he says he is coming here to battle for it. I guess my point is we are at a point where we say whatever feels logical to help us make feel better about the fact we took a guy who has done nothing but drop levels, unlike Odom who keeps progressing in terms of competition levels.

 

[LpoolNative]

Agreed with CIL

If Malachi can figure out the mental processing part of the game and slow the playbook down, I think he could actually be good.

 

[djorange1989]

Yet in he says he is coming here to battle for it. I guess my point is we are at a point where we say whatever feels logical to help us make feel better about the fact we took a guy who has done nothing but drop levels, unlike Odom who keeps progressing in terms of competition levels.

I think we feel ok about him coming because he will be 3rd or 4th string.

 

[bnoro]

A nice reclamation project for our new, veteran QB coach. If he can help Sam Darnold get turned around…

We hired Kevin O'Connell as our QB coach?

This guy did not "help Darnold get turned around". He was remarkably average-to-poor there

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I had mentioned before that IMO our QB recruiting strategy every year should be one decently rated HS QB (Top 50 type, high 3 star low 4 star, none this year), one diamond rough HS QB (2 star overlooked type, none this year, I think Lott is in between both but I suppose fits better here), one portal lower level QB with experience (check), and one portal former highly recruited QB who is a long shot gamble to "fix" (I suppose Nelson fits here although he has already failed at two smaller programs after USC).


I think if we do the above every year we should be able to have decent 2nd and 3rd string options. And every once in awhile you will find a QB1. Fran has pretty much done that this year. Maybe one more HS QB even if just a 2 star kid.

 

[Ttk.gman2]

A nice reclamation project for our new, veteran QB coach. If he can help Sam Darnold get turned around…

Agreed

 

[Orangello]

This is smart after last years diasaster

 

[JarHeadJim]

I put on women's clothing and hang around in bars...

Oh, wait.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Why not take flyers on guys like this IF they aren't being depended on to start? Coaches are paid to coach players up, may as well give them adequate materials to prove their worth.

 

[CbusCuse]

Tools but poor performance means he's basically Collins without the baggage.

We keep the idea of a QB with upside but lost the association with our program's failures.

I see nothing wrong with taking that shot.

Yeah I get the comparsion to Collins as regarding to getting a similar shot as a starter and not looking all that great. But I think Malachi was slightly more productive than Rickie and i'm sure he had a lot less to work with at UTEP and not as good of an offensive system as we have at SU. And while both have a strong arm and are mobile, according to HS stats and highlights, I think Malachi has shown to be a more accurate passer and had much better HS stats and film. I feel like he is more likely to become a good QB.

But I agree with your point in that having not already performed badly at SU, he's a better fit here than Rickie just for that reason.

 

[kcsu]

Malachi has the physical tools and accuracy that made him one of the most sought after QBs in the country.
Maybe with the right coaching and talent around him he reaches his potential. I think this is an excellent job by the staff.

 

[wfschrec]

Malachi has the physical tools and accuracy that made him one of the most sought after QBs in the country.
Maybe with the right coaching and talent around him he reaches his potential. I think this is an excellent job by the staff.

I truly hope I'm wrong but it hasn't clicked with 3 different staffs, so what would make us unique? In earnest I think a school like Syracuse needs to stop adding players and trim the roster ... get under 85 and get more juice out of NIL. In the NFL you work with a roster of 53, why not get down around 65 and spread the revenue share deeper and land more impactful players, you also can get more bang for your buck. It also allows a more focused coaching effort for the staff where you are literally now only coaching lets say 65 players vs 85 ... if the NCAA is going to behave more like the NFL we should get in front of that trend and operate in kind IMHO.

 

[ImperialOrange]

I truly hope I'm wrong but it hasn't clicked with 3 different staffs, so what would make us unique? In earnest I think a school like Syracuse needs to stop adding players and trim the roster ... get under 85 and get more juice out of NIL. In the NFL you work with a roster of 53, why not get down around 65 and spread the revenue share deeper and land more impactful players, you also can get more bang for your buck. It also allows a more focused coaching effort for the staff where you are literally now only coaching lets say 65 players vs 85 ... if the NCAA is going to behave more like the NFL we should get in front of that trend and operate in kind IMHO.

Because injuries happen and pay rate is not a guarantee of performance.

You play 105 bets in roulette you have a better chance to win more often than if you only play 65. You may win bigger with 65 bigger bets but you also may lose your ass. You need at least 50 contributors from first team, second team and specials. I'd rather chance it with 55 extra plays vs only 15 especially in a post walk on world.