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Nick Townsend: The Rare Late Enrollee Who Could Play as a Freshman

Eric Nahlinby:Eric Nahlin•04/07/25
Nick Townsend
Nick Townsend (Eric Nahlin/Inside Texas)

Last spring I was thoroughly confused on the lack of contact between Texas and Dekaney tight end Nick Townsend. At the time, Townsend was leaning pretty strongly toward Alabama with USC and Texas A&M also pushing hard. Texas got off to a good start in the recruitment in January but the proceedings hit a wall for reasons I still don’t know. 

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After stopping in at Dekaney last May to do some research, I learned communication had picked up in recent weeks between the two parties, and though Texas had some ground to make up there was a good chance they’d do so. That made a lot more sense.

Townsend is a truly uncommon player and athlete. In addition to tight end, he was a credible prospect at both linebacker and Edge. Watching him play off-ball backer was eye opening for his change of direction and short area quickness. Tight end is far and away the cleanest projection but watching him move on defense only created more confidence in him as an overall prospect. 

After signing with Texas, Townsend didn’t enroll early which is nearly a requirement for early playing time these days. The primary reason he didn’t graduate early was so he could run track with his teammates. Though he’s not in Austin, he’s still boosting his profile as a prospect with blistering times. 

Years ago Adrian Colbert won his classification at state with a time of 21.55 in the 200M. Colbert would go on to become one of the fastest Longhorns on his teams. Townsend is running 21.62 after running 10.92 last year in the 100M. Keep in mind he’s 6-foot-3.5 and around 230 pounds. Unicorn.

Townsend might be the offense’s equivalent to Jonah Williams. Williams is missing spring ball to participate in baseball. We’ve been theorizing he’ll still play this year because he’s so freakishly talented. Perhaps the coaches will carve out a narrow role for him in Dime to ensure he gets on the field. The same could be done for Townsend in two tight end sets. You likely wouldn’t want a play’s success resting on his ability to block, but you can certainly put him on the field to run defenders ragged. A Jordan Washington-Nick Townsend tandem would put a ton of stress on a pass defense that’s likely thinking run.

In addition to his athleticism, Townsend is a physical player. We often mentioned he should be in consideration as a five-star because he was a complete player while being a freak athlete. The rankers didn’t see it that way, though his On3 Industry Ranking settled in at a very respectable No. 93 player in the country.

With so little experience at tight end, Townsend could climb the depth chart rather quickly, though we are hearing early positives about his classmate, Emaree Winston.

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In my view, stardom is a matter of when, not if. Arriving after spring ball might limit his freshman expectations somewhat, but if ever there was a player worth the wait, it’s Nick Townsend.

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