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In late January, 2022 Boone (FL) 3-star OT Leyton Nelson was an unknown prospect on the recruiting scene with zero offers to his name. However, his fortunes have changed quickly since his junior film has made the rounds, as Nelson has been one of the fastest rising recruits in the country after earning offers from 19 FBS programs over the past month alone.
“Well, for me, my sophomore year, I was 240 at like 6’5”, real skinny and I didn’t have any film,” Nelson said. “I finally put on 40 pounds over that next summer going into my junior fall. I put out my film at the end of the season and I tried to get it out there as much as I could, and then it blew up. I think that was probably a huge factor - putting on weight, muscle mass, working hard, getting my footwork and speed up. Then putting out that film, showing it off, kind of just helped me blow up.”
Nelson now has bids from Power 5 programs such as Oregon, Penn State, FSU, and Tennessee, while earlier this month, the in-state Miami Hurricanes got in on the offer flurry as well when OL coach Garin Justice extended a bid to the Boone star.
“It was kind of crazy because I moved to Florida when I was four and I always saw these big schools – Miami, FSU, UF,” Nelson said. “To finally get an offer from Miami as the first one of those, it was just a big dream to get a school like that.”
Nelson and Justice have now talked multiple times, and a big selling point for Justice has been the improvement of Canes OL Zion Nelson over the past year.
“We talked about drills they do there and what would be helpful for me, what I need to go over and get better at,” Nelson said. “[Justice] was just showing me the progression of Zion from his freshman to sophomore year and was comparing it to what he could do with me. I’ve just been growing so much constantly, even this year I’m still growing. So with that, coach Justice was telling me he could help me out so much at Miami and that they’re putting players in the NFL, that Zion is going to be a first round draft pick. He was saying he can put me out there and get me to be a much better player if I came there.”
What is it about the Hurricanes that has the 6'6" 280 pound prospect interested in possibly attending UM?
“Well, it is a private school. It has a great football program, the coaches there are all well-connected,” Nelson said. “And also the education they offer there is really great and has all my majors I’m interested in. It’s like the top program for the majors I’m interested in, which is architecture and interior design.”
In terms of the rest of his recruitment, Nelson is attempting to learn more about all the new options he’s gained in such a short amount of time, but admits the NCAA-mandated dead period has made things more difficult for him. As his recruitment has just started blowing up, Nelson has yet to make any visits to campuses, and the NCAA just recently made things tougher by pushing back the dead period another month through May.
“I’ve been talking to Pitt, Tennessee, South Carolina, Penn State, Rutgers, Miami, FSU, and Oregon,” Nelson said. “All of them talk about how they want to get me up there ASAP after the May 31st dead period, hopefully it doesn’t extend further. They say I’ll be able to go to their spring games, go visit and watch. I’d also be able to go up there for an unofficial visit - you can’t talk to coaches, but you can get a player to come walk around with you to help see it in person and get a better understanding of it.”
In addition to Miami, another in-state option Nelson is seriously considering is FSU, and he talked about why he is interested in the Seminoles’ program.
“I have a lot of fellow Boone people there, because most people just end up there for the academics. I also have my teammate Shambre Jackson there,” Nelson said. “In terms of the relationship [with FSU], It would help me feel a little bit better seeing how much they want me or not.”
As the offers continue to pour in for Nelson, he is content on playing the waiting game with the process to get a better picture of his recruitment before making any decisions.
“I haven’t really thought about making a top list,” Nelson said. “I was trying to be a little patient and see what other offers I can get, try and get that number up, and then make a top list. I’ll probably [commit] sometime after my spring season, but most definitely before the fall. I just want to focus on getting better, keeping my weight where I’m at and getting stronger. I don’t want to get my eyes off of that. And plus I don’t want to cut [my recruitment] too short if there are any other schools out there that would be interested.”
It’s clear that once Nelson gets to see some campuses and build better relationships with the coaching staffs, he’ll feel more comfortable narrowing his list down and making a decision from there, which will likely come this summer if all goes according to plan.
“It’s definitely going to be about the school’s relationship with my mom and I,” Nelson said of his decision. “Also, what do they offer, do they have the education that I want? Do they have a good football program? Is the whole campus good for me, what is the surrounding area like? Is it a dead zone or is it a full-on city?”
“Well, for me, my sophomore year, I was 240 at like 6’5”, real skinny and I didn’t have any film,” Nelson said. “I finally put on 40 pounds over that next summer going into my junior fall. I put out my film at the end of the season and I tried to get it out there as much as I could, and then it blew up. I think that was probably a huge factor - putting on weight, muscle mass, working hard, getting my footwork and speed up. Then putting out that film, showing it off, kind of just helped me blow up.”
Nelson now has bids from Power 5 programs such as Oregon, Penn State, FSU, and Tennessee, while earlier this month, the in-state Miami Hurricanes got in on the offer flurry as well when OL coach Garin Justice extended a bid to the Boone star.
“It was kind of crazy because I moved to Florida when I was four and I always saw these big schools – Miami, FSU, UF,” Nelson said. “To finally get an offer from Miami as the first one of those, it was just a big dream to get a school like that.”
Nelson and Justice have now talked multiple times, and a big selling point for Justice has been the improvement of Canes OL Zion Nelson over the past year.
“We talked about drills they do there and what would be helpful for me, what I need to go over and get better at,” Nelson said. “[Justice] was just showing me the progression of Zion from his freshman to sophomore year and was comparing it to what he could do with me. I’ve just been growing so much constantly, even this year I’m still growing. So with that, coach Justice was telling me he could help me out so much at Miami and that they’re putting players in the NFL, that Zion is going to be a first round draft pick. He was saying he can put me out there and get me to be a much better player if I came there.”
What is it about the Hurricanes that has the 6'6" 280 pound prospect interested in possibly attending UM?
“Well, it is a private school. It has a great football program, the coaches there are all well-connected,” Nelson said. “And also the education they offer there is really great and has all my majors I’m interested in. It’s like the top program for the majors I’m interested in, which is architecture and interior design.”
In terms of the rest of his recruitment, Nelson is attempting to learn more about all the new options he’s gained in such a short amount of time, but admits the NCAA-mandated dead period has made things more difficult for him. As his recruitment has just started blowing up, Nelson has yet to make any visits to campuses, and the NCAA just recently made things tougher by pushing back the dead period another month through May.
“I’ve been talking to Pitt, Tennessee, South Carolina, Penn State, Rutgers, Miami, FSU, and Oregon,” Nelson said. “All of them talk about how they want to get me up there ASAP after the May 31st dead period, hopefully it doesn’t extend further. They say I’ll be able to go to their spring games, go visit and watch. I’d also be able to go up there for an unofficial visit - you can’t talk to coaches, but you can get a player to come walk around with you to help see it in person and get a better understanding of it.”
In addition to Miami, another in-state option Nelson is seriously considering is FSU, and he talked about why he is interested in the Seminoles’ program.
“I have a lot of fellow Boone people there, because most people just end up there for the academics. I also have my teammate Shambre Jackson there,” Nelson said. “In terms of the relationship [with FSU], It would help me feel a little bit better seeing how much they want me or not.”
As the offers continue to pour in for Nelson, he is content on playing the waiting game with the process to get a better picture of his recruitment before making any decisions.
“I haven’t really thought about making a top list,” Nelson said. “I was trying to be a little patient and see what other offers I can get, try and get that number up, and then make a top list. I’ll probably [commit] sometime after my spring season, but most definitely before the fall. I just want to focus on getting better, keeping my weight where I’m at and getting stronger. I don’t want to get my eyes off of that. And plus I don’t want to cut [my recruitment] too short if there are any other schools out there that would be interested.”
It’s clear that once Nelson gets to see some campuses and build better relationships with the coaching staffs, he’ll feel more comfortable narrowing his list down and making a decision from there, which will likely come this summer if all goes according to plan.
“It’s definitely going to be about the school’s relationship with my mom and I,” Nelson said of his decision. “Also, what do they offer, do they have the education that I want? Do they have a good football program? Is the whole campus good for me, what is the surrounding area like? Is it a dead zone or is it a full-on city?”
