ATH Mekhi Nelson commits to Nebraska, reclassifies to 2024
Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More athlete Mekhi Nelson announced his commitment to Nebraska on Monday, less than a week after his mid-week official visit. The 6-foot, 190 pound athlete was offered by the Huskers last month, camped in Lincoln the weekend of July 7 and performed well enough to earn a return official visit and is now not only committed, but announced he's reclassifying to the 2024 class
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Nelson committed to Nebraska over UMass, Boston College and UConn. A standout high school running back, Nelson is seen as an athlete by Nebraska's staff after working out at multiple positions, including defensive back, during camp.
Though he was only offered by the Huskers last month, Nelson has a relationship with running backs coach EJ Barthel dating back to Barthel's previous stop
""We have a very strong relationship," Nelson said. "Coach EJ offered me when he was at UConn and he kept the relationship, it just kept getting stronger and stronger, we just kept building that. When he moved to Nebraska he was still showing the same love."
Barthel maintained the relationship with Nelson and pushed for the Huskers to offer. He finally got the green light from Matt Rhule after Nelson won RB MVP at the Under Armour New Jersey regional camp back in late April, putting up some impressive testing times and measurables.
Nelson quickly set up an unofficial visit to Nebraska to camp in front of Rhule and Barthel on June 9th and after a strong showing at multiple positions, scheduled a return official visit. He's now the second late 2024 scholarship addition for the Huskers, alongside 2024 German defensive end David Höffken, who committed to Nebraska earlier this month. The two will enroll later this summer ahead of the 2024 season.
Last fall, Nelson rushed for 1,824 yards on 212 carries, averaging 8.6 yards per carry, and scored 25 touchdowns. He's an athlete commit at Nebraska, though he's most comfortable at running back, but has the versatility to play defensive back as well. The Huskers didn't land a scholarship high school running back in the 2024 cycle, but did add four-star transfer running back Dante Dowdell from Oregon.