Malachi Nelson, USC’s No. 1 recruit in 2023, begins the ultimate football education

Malachi Nelson is the ESPN number one overall recruit in this 2023 class. The California native is also a consensus top-three quarterback alongside Dante Moore (UCLA) and Arch Manning (Texas).

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound quarterback is drawing comparisons to former Oregon Duck and Heisman Trophy Winner Marcus Mariota.

Nelson received offers from schools such as Alabama, Oklahoma and Georgia, but chose to stay in his home state of California and head to USC with teammate Makai Lemon, a five-star receiver.

Nelson will sit behind Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams for a year, before taking the reins as the Trojans’ signal-caller in Lincoln Riley’s offense. It is notable that Nelson was willing to accept that his freshman season in 2023 will be a learning experience behind Caleb. His time to shine will be in 2024, when the Trojans move to the Big Ten. It will be very important for him to soak up knowledge from Caleb and Lincoln Riley next year, in words but more centrally in how they carry themselves on the field during games.

Malachi Nelson will need to study Riley’s offensive concepts, but more than that, he will need to see how Caleb Williams studies defenses and makes pre-snap reads. All of that is coming Nelson’s way in 2023, and we’re not likely to see the fruits of that process until the Trojans are in the Big Ten.

Nelson threw for more than 2,800 yards while compiling 35 touchdowns and only four picks, completing a career-high 67.1 percent of his passes and setting a career-best in yards per attempt (9.73).

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound QB has elite arm talent and has a smooth yet quick delivery. He has shown he can make all the NFL-level throws down the field.

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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire