FSU football recruiting: 4-star LB Blake Nichelson commits to the Noles

FSU football recruiting has steadily climbed the rankings over the past few months and looks to capitalize off their 3-0 start to the 2022 season.

A major target for the Noles was a four-star linebacker, Blake Nichelson. Nichelson hails from Manteca, California, and favored the Oregon Ducks until the Noles offered earlier this year. FSU got him to officially visit in June, and he came back for four days unofficially in late July.

A visit over the weekend to Oregon made it interesting, but the coaching staff built a relationship strong enough to garner a commitment Tuesday night.

Nichelson announced his commitment to the Noles via 247Sport’s Youtube channel:

Nichelson checks in as the No. 245 player overall and No. 19 linebacker nationally via composite rankings. He lists at 6’3 and 210 pounds while also playing running back for his high school. Nichelson fits a position of need for the Noles, along with three-star Demarco Ward.

Credit has to go to Derrick Yray, who’s originally from Manteca. However, Randy Shannon has put some work into the recruitment, not to mention has played a large role in molding the current group of FSU linebackers Nichelson has watched every weekend for the past three weeks.

Nichelson is the 15th high school player in the class and was one of the major recruiting targets left on the recruiting board. Nichelson is the 15th high school player in the class and was one of the major recruiting targets left on the recruiting board.

He’s also the fourth top 150 commit in the class. Nichelson’s addition pushes the Noles from No. 22 to No. 17 nationally and could add a commitment from five-star wide receiver Hykeem Williams Friday.

There’s only a handful of realistic remaining high school targets the Noles would accept commitments, which leaves room for several impact transfer players. Now we wait until Friday afternoon to see what happens with Hykeem Williams.