Cal Football

4 Star Manteca LB Blake Nichelson Talks Cal Visit

By Jim McGill

April 17, 2022

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Manteca linebacker Blake Nichelson has been high on the Bears’ radar for a while now and they were able to get the 4 star MLB out on a visit to campus in the last week.

“The visit was great,” said Nichelson. “I really enjoyed it. The campus was really nice and the facilities were great. The coaches were awesome. Coach Sirmon and Coach Wilcox were great. Cal is definitely a place I could see going to.”

Nichelson starred on both sides of the ball, leaving a path of desruction in his wake as an MLB, running back and catching passes out of the backfield, totaling 49 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovered, one pass defended and one interception returned for 58 yards.

On offense, Nichelson racked up 2231 yards on 208 carries (10.7 ypc) and 36 TDs on the ground and 19 catches for 381 yards (20.1 ypc) and seven more TDs through the air.

As for what he's looking for in his future program?

“For football, the relationships with coaches,” said Nichelson. “How I think I will fit in to their program. How I think they feel about me, value me and see me and how well they can develop me.”

Nichelson doesn’t have a defined timeline yet but the Bears are strongly in the mix for the Central Valley star.

“I’m not sure yet on decision timeframe,” said Nichelson. “It’s a tough choice so I want to make the right decision. There are several in my favorites group and Cal is definitely among my favorites.”