FSU football: Projecting 2023 summer enrollee expectations

BLAKE NICHELSON. 4-Star. Blake Nichelson ranks as the No. 181 player and No. 17 linebacker nationally. He ranks as the No. 13 player in California, and checks in at 6’3″ and 215 pounds. Nichelson has a lot of hype from fans and some FSU media. He’s a blue-chip linebacker, and that’s become a rarity for FSU recruiting in the last few seasons. He’s physically put together well, and some folks expect him to contribute as a freshman at linebacker. However, I’d pump the brakes on that notion unless FSU puts him in the game during several of the second-half blowouts we expect to see in 2023. Like wide receivers, it’s not common for linebackers to make an impact as freshmen, especially if they didn’t early enroll. I wrote about this recently and listed the names of many blue-chip linebackers signees over the years. Several rated higher than Nichelson, and it took a while for them to get on the field. However, I’d expect Nichelson to play special teams for sure.. LB. Manteca HS, Manteca, California