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Elite 11 Finals Preview: High Expectations for 5-Star USC QB Commit Malachi Nelson

Scott-Schraderby:Scott Schrader•06/28/22•

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There’s no place in the nation with a collection of talented young quarterbacks like we have in southern California. Not only do we have the most talented group of prospects college coaches covet, I believe we have the most talented coaches training these impressive athletes.

One of those coaches is Danny Hernandez from “Team L.A. Dimes”. I first met Hernandez when he was coaching 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. Young was a freshman Cathedral HS in Los Angeles at the time. Hard to believe that was more than five years ago.

The list of quarterbacks Hernandez has trained and currently trains is extensive, but today we’ll focus on 5-Star USC Commit Malachi Nelson. Nelson will compete today thru Thursday in the 2022 Elite 11 Finals at Redondo Union HS.

Everyone in our business has been familiar with Nelson before he even began his high school career at Los Alamitos HS. Hernandez typically starts training the kids in southern California at a relatively early age. He and Nelson hooked up more than three years ago.

“Malachi and I have worked together since the 8th grade,” Hernandez said. “I obviously work a lot more with him, but I’ve also worked with Jaden Rashada since the 8th grade. A last minute addition, Jaxon Smolik from Iowa, is also one of my kids I’ve been working with for a year now.”

While we knew about Nelson and had seen videos of him throwing, I got my first intimate look two years ago in Oceanside. In mid March 2020 California basically shut down the state, including parks and beaches. High school football players and other athletes had to adapt to the closures.

Hernandez had access to a beautiful private property in Oceanside (CA) and had throwing sessions multiple times a week. I made trip down south from L.A. in early April to see current Miami QB Jake Garcia, Texas QB Malik Murphy, Nelson and others throw.

Nelson was still just a freshman, but extremely impressive for a kid his age.

Over the past two years we’ve spent many hours with Nelson and watched him develop into one of the premier quarterbacks in the nation. He’s gotten bigger, stronger, his throws are tight with impressive velocity. Not sure any QB spins the ball better than Nelson. Nelson also displays exceptional footwork and the athleticism Lincoln Riley looks for in quarterbacks.

Nelson has earned a 5-Star ranking from On3 Sports, 247, Rivals and ESPN, which makes him one of the few 5-Star Plus prospects for 2023.

Later today Nelson will compete with 19 other quarterbacks at Redondo Union HS in the Elite 11 Finals. Nelson earned his ticket to the big show on May 3 at the Elite 11 Regional in Las Vegas. Alabama commit Eli Holstein, Miami commit Jaden Rashada and Louisville commit Pierce Clarkson also earned invites that day.

As you can see in the video above, Nelson’s development since April 2020 is significant. He hasn’t come close to reaching his ceiling either. That’s sometimes what we see with the highly ranked QBs in high school. They get so much training as younger guys, their polish is often what sets them apart from others in high school.

Despite Nelson not having the highest rating among the 2023 quarterbacks, he is the highest ranked QB competing in the Elite 11 Finals. In fact, Nelson has been the highest ranked QB at every event he’s competed at this year. And he embraces the challenge this week of living up to the high expectations.

“There will be a lot of really good coaches out there this week,” said Nelson. “I’m gonna be a sponge and learn as much as I can from the Elite coaches. But at the same time I love to compete and I’m expecting to win. I’m not expecting anything less than that. I feel like I’m the best kid in this class and I’m ready to go prove it.”

We attend several big-time events each year, including the All-American games in January, but the Elite 11 Finals is extremely unique. It’s just the 20 highly recruited quarterbacks, quite a few Elite 11 alums will attend and the coaching staff led by Trent Dilfer is as good as it gets. Quarterbacks have their own fraternity and none is more impressive than the Elite 11 fraternity.

Much like the Army All-American Game, kids grow up paying close attention to the Elite 11 and dream of competing in the event. Nelson was among those younger dudes.

“I remember when Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence were competing in it,” said Nelson. “That’s when I first noticed it on social media. But I first really started watching it when Bryce (Young), DJ (Uigalalei) and CJ Stroud were in it. Obviously I knew them, so it was like watching my guys go.

“Then obviously last year with Caleb (Williams) and Malik (Murphy), I was up there watching those guys. So, Now it’s my turn. I’ve always gone to the (L.A.) Regionals, but I’m excited for my turn.”

On3 Director of Scouting & Rankings Charles Power published an Elite 11 Finals Preview for the network and provides his analysis on what to expect.

SoCal 5-stars headline Elite 11 Finals

The group was expected to be led by two On3 five-stars from Southern California in USCcommit Malachi Nelson (No. 2) and Tennessee pledge Nico Iamaleava (No. 5). We recently saw both compete at Overtime’s OT7 league in Las Vegas. Iamaleava turned in a breakout performance and earned On3 MVP honors for the event. 

At 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds, Iamaleava combines one of the cycle’s top arms with athleticism and playmaking ability that translates well to live settings. He looked like the top overall prospect at OT7 — an event loaded with top-ranked recruits. To this point, he’s at his best when put in a free-flowing situation where he’s able to just go play – like we saw at OT7. The Elite 11 setting is a bit different. However, he announced last week that he won’t be participating in the event after receiving an invite earlier this summer. 

Nelson, meanwhile, had an up-and-down week in Las Vegas and may have been dealing with some shoulder discomfort. The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder was also playing with a new 7-on-7 team, albeit one with an embarrassment of receiver talent. Nelson has long been considered one of the top quarterbacks in the cycle as a developed, polished passer with a quick release and accuracy on Friday nights. The competition at the top of the 2023 quarterback class is stiff and Nelson will need to show continued progress to hold off some other ascending prospects, led by Iamaleava. 

WeAreSC will be at the Elite 11 Finals all three days and be on the lookout for Video, Photos and Updates on the Top Performers. The competition begins tonight at 6:30pm PT.

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Garry Paskwietz (1966-2019)

Garry Paskwietz was a pioneer in bringing team-specific sports coverage to the internet. He founded WeAreSC in 1998 and was an Emmy winner for his work with Fox Sports West. Always generous with his time, knowledge, and compassion, he touched the lives of countless USC and high school football fans.

Garry Paskwietz