It was just one year ago when Malachi Nelson, a former five-star recruit who spent his first season behind Caleb Williams at USC, announced that he would be transferring to Boise State for the 2024 season. The expectation was that Nelson would have no issue beating out former three-star recruit Maddux Madsen for the Broncos starting job, but that's not the way it played out. Madsen won the job ahead of week one, never let it go, and at season's end, Nelson once again entered the transfer portal.

Less than a month after entering his name into the transfer portal, Nelson has made his decision, and given his pedigree, his landing spot comes as something of a surprise.

Per College Football insider Pete Thamel:

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“Former Boise State/USC quarterback Malachi Nelson has committed to UTEP,” Thamel tweeted on Sunday afternoon. “Nelson ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in ESPN’s Class of 2023 and will rank as the most decorated recruit in UTEP history.”

As Thamel stated, this recruiting victory is a major coup for the UTEP Miners and second year head coach Scotty Walden. The expectation is that after spending a pair of seasons on the bench, Nelson will finally get his chance to start in El Paso. During the 2024 season, a ragtag group of signal-callers — Skyler Locklear, Cade McConnell, JP Pickles and Shay Smith — combined to throw for 2,369 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over the course of a 3-9 campaign.

Under the 35-year-old Walden, there is some semblance of momentum for the Miners. In 2024, Walden signed the two highest recruits in program history, according to 247 Sports — Jaylin Jones and Martavious Collins — and followed that up with the signing of Allen Gant, a three-star safety who spearheads a class of 2025 that is ranked 76th in the nation at the time of this writing.