Boise State lands former five-star quarterback that spent last season at USC

The Boise State football team may have found its quarterback of the future.

Former USC quarterback Malachi Nelson announced Saturday night on Twitter that he’s transferring to Boise State. He has four years of eligibility remaining.

Nelson visited Boise the past few days, and he must’ve liked what he saw enough to shut down his recruitment. Boise State was his first visit since announcing that he was transferring, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Nelson is the second transfer that has committed to the Broncos this week, following former Cal cornerback Jeremiah Earby.

Nelson was a five-star recruit coming out of Los Alamitos High School in California. He was the No. 5 ranked quarterback and No. 13 overall recruit in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports. He was the No. 1 recruit in the country, according to ESPN.

He had scholarship offers from many of the most prominent programs in the country, including Michigan, Alabama, USC, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon. Nelson appeared in just one game at USC last season.

He posted 7,984 passing yards and 110 total touchdowns (105 passing) in four seasons at Los Alamitos and was named Gatorade California Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound native of Los Alamitos, California, is joining a program without an established starting quarterback.

Boise State’s former starting quarterback Taylen Green transferred to Arkansas. He lost his starting job to Maddux Madsen before last season’s home game against New Mexico, but Madsen suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Lobos that will likely keep him out until the start of fall camp in August.

The rest of the quarterbacks on the roster include redshirt freshman CJ Tiller, redshirt junior Colt Fulton, freshman Kaleb Annett and redshirt freshman Max Cutforth. Tiller started in the LA Bowl but struggled in a loss to UCLA, completing 12-of-21 passes for 117 yards and an interception.

Nelson joining the team is just more good news for an offense that is also expected to return Mountain West offensive player of the year, running back Ashton Jeanty, another promising young running back in Jambres Dubar and three talented wide receivers in Latrell Caples, Austin Bolt and Prince Strachan.