Former No. 1 overall recruit and USC quarterback wins QB battle at current program

USC fans will, of course, remember Malachi Nelson as a Trojan. The SoCal native exited high school as the top recruit in the nation. He was initially slated to join Oklahoma, but when coach Lincoln Riley took the job in Los Angeles, Nelson flipped his commitment and arrived in Troy. It was known that Caleb Williams was going to be the top choice at QB1, but after that it did come as a surprise to see Nelson transfer out and join Boise State.

Now with the University of Texas at El Paso, On3's Pete Nakos has reported that the Miners will start the year with Nelson as the starting quarterback.

This provides a chance for the 2023 recruit to get his career on track and to show why he was as highly touted coming out of high school as he was. It did not work out for Nelson with the Trojans or the Broncos. Now, however, he is slated to lead this team against Conference USA competition. UTEP went 3-9 last season. With Nelson leading the offense, they will hope that the former five-star will be able to lead the Miners to a bowl game in 2025.

Next opportunity for former USC quarterback

After years sitting behind someone else, Nelson has picked up a solid foundation base that will be able to set him up for the opening game on the road against Utah State. Another great opportunity that will come his way is the Broncos' third game of the year, in which UTEP will play Texas in Austin.

Having improved and learned behind the scenes, Nelson is in about as good of a position as he can now be in under coach Scotty Walden. Nelson did well to win the job from UTEP's starter from last season, Skyler Locklear. As QB1, Nelson will look to lead an improved product on offense in El Paso.