Blake Nichelson signs with Florida State

Florida State has officially added a key part of its 2023 recruiting class, with four-star linebacker Blake Nichelson signing with the Seminoles:

From FSU:

BLAKE NICHELSON

LB | 6-3 | 215

RIPON, CALIF.

MANTECA HIGH SCHOOL

Consensus four-star recruit…rated as No. 9 overall prospect in California, No. 131 overall nationally and country’s No. 10 linebacker by 247Sports…ranked 13th overall in state, No. 20 among nation’s linebackers and No. 202 overall nationally by On3…ranked as California’s 14th-best prospect and No. 17 outside linebacker nationally by ESPN…197th in ESPN300…rated 24th nationally among outside linebackers and 27th among California’s prospects by Rivals…contributed on offense and defense at Manteca…recorded 93 tackles, including 11.5 sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles…added 431 carries for 4,078 yards and 65 touchdowns plus 52 receptions for 1,231 yards and 22 touchdowns…named to MaxPreps All Sac-Joaquin Section Team after leading Buffaloes to 11-2 record and regional final round of CIF Division 1-A playoffs his senior year…rushed for 1,719 yards and 27 touchdowns, caught 29 passes for 703 yards and 14 touchdowns and made 44 tackles, 6.5 for loss with 4.5 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and six pass breakups…helped Manteca to Division 3 title his junior season after rushing for 2,231 yards and 36 touchdowns, catching 19 passes for 381 yards and seven touchdowns and recording 49 tackles, 18.0 for loss with 7.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception and one fumble recovery.

• PLAYER: Blake Nichelson
• SCHOOL: Manteca (Manteca, California)
• SIZE: 6’3, 200 pounds
• RANKING: 93 rating (4-star) on 247 Sports Composite List (175th best player; 15th best LB, 12th best player in CA)
• OTHER SUITORS: Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, Washington Huskies

Thoughts from The Three Stars

David: Another major recruiting victory for the Seminoles, Nichelson is a true two-way standout player for his high school. He’ll be stopping touchdowns from happening in Tallahassee, but you can bet he’ll score a couple as well in a goal line back type of role. It’ll be hard to keep Nichelson off the field for long, and I expect he’ll be a special teams demon quickly.

Josh: Do we gush about Blake Nichelson every time we talk about him? Yes. Is it warranted? Very much so. This kid gets it done in all three phases.

Tim: Elite athlete. What he did on offense was insane but has potential to be a star linebacker for the Seminoles

To stay up to date with all of today’s action, head to our signing day tracker as well as our official Florida State Seminoles football recruiting thread.