Coming out of high school at Los Alamitos in California, Nelson was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023. He was the 11th-ranked recruit overall in that recruiting cycle and the fifth-ranked quarterback. Despite that, it hasn’t been an easy journey throughout his college career.
Nelson would begin at USC, playing for head coach and quarterback guru Lincoln Riley. However, he would only play in one game there, acting primarily as a backup to Caleb Williams. In the process, he took a redshirt and ultimately decided to transfer following the end of the season. He landed at Boise State. There, he lost a quarterback battle to Maddux Madsen, who would help lead the Broncos to the College Football Playoff with Nelson acting as his backup.
For his career, Nelson has played in four games. During that time, he’s completed 13 out of 20 pass attempts for 128 yards and an interception.
Following the 2024 season, Nelson once again entered the Transfer Portal. This time, he landed at UTEP and, for the first time in his three college seasons, is going to be given the chance to start for his team.
This Fall Camp, UTEP billed its quarterback battle as being between five different quarterbacks. Beyond Nelson, the Miners also had Skyler Locklear, Shay Smith, Cade McConnell, and Chad Warner all on the roster and competing for that starting job. Last season, it was Skyler Locklear who led UTEP in passing with 1,583 yards. Cade McConnell, for his part, threw for 540 yards last year.
This is going to be the second season leading UTEP for head coach Scotty Walden. It’s largely been seen as a rebuilding project, and in 2024, he led the Miners to a 3-9 record. This will also be the first season for offensive coordinator Mark Cala at UTEP. He had previously been the quarterbacks coach at TCU, but this will be his first chance to be an offensive coordinator.
UTEP last made a bowl game in 2021. That season, the Miners went 7-6. It was their only winning season in the last decade.
The UTEP Miners are opening the season on August 30th with a road game against the Utah State Aggies. After that, he’ll return to El Paso for his home opener against the UT Martin Skyhawks.
