Like so many other recruits around the country, Manteca High School athlete Blake Nichelson is beginning to see his future change before his eyes. The 2023 prospect has continued to add new offers since the beginning of the year expanding on his opportunities to play at numerous programs around the country.

Cal, Washington, Arizona State, Washington State and San Jose State are some of the schools that have come through with offers in the last several weeks widening the scope of his recruitment.

That has meant getting to know new coaches and more research on programs in different conferences. However, one thing has remained important for Nichelson and that is the relationships he is building during the process.

“Right now I’m just going through it really,” he said about the recruiting process. “I call my coaches, the ones that offered me and the ones that show interest. I keep in close contact with all of them.”

Nichelson is an intriguing prospect for college programs because of his ability to play on either side of the ball. College coaches have not been able to come to a consensus on where he fits best with some schools offering him as an offensive player while many others believe his future is on defense.

“I think definitely me playing good on both sides of the ball,” Nichelson said about what he was most proud of during his junior season. “Most coaches, even though I’m getting recruited mostly for linebacker, they’ll comment on my offensive film and see how I do it on both sides of the ball. So, I think that’s also a big deal, too.”

Cal is one of the programs that envisions Nichelson as a defensive prospect in college, and he counts the Bears as one school that has made it clear he is going to be a priority in the current recruiting cycle.