BYU defensive lineman John Nelson high-fives followers in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. The previous Salem Hills Excessive standout has an athletic pedigree and an eye fixed on the NFL. Ben B. Braun, Deseret Information
BYU coach Kalani Sitake greets defensive lineman John Nelson (94) as he comes off the sphere in opposition to Oregon Sept. 17, 2022, in Eugene, Ore. Says Sitake of Nelson: “We’re actually enthusiastic about the best way John has developed into a extremely good participant. He has an ideal work ethic.” Andy Nelson, Related Press
When BYU defensive lineman John Nelson was rising up in Boise, Idaho, and Salem, Utah, he earned the nickname “Nightmare” due to the best way he struck worry into the hearts of his fellow Little League soccer gamers.
Moreover, when your identify is John Nelson, you want a nickname. How else are you going to face out?
Nelson, now a 6-foot-4, 275-pound sophomore starter on BYU’s defensive position, is beginning to stand out for his play on the sphere, similar to when he was youthful.
“We communicate rather a lot. We speak about movie, do stuff collectively within the offseason. We're all the time figuring out. He's all the time the toughest employee on the sphere, and within the defensive position room. I've realized rather a lot from him about what it takes to be defensive lineman.” — BYU DL John Nelson on his cousin, Porter Gustin of the Miami Dolphins
He was a lot larger than everybody else when he was within the fifth and sixth grade that it was not unusual to see opponents nearly comically bounce off him after they tried to run him over or block him, his father stated.
“John simply stood like a brick wall, and guys would hit him and simply bounce away,” Dave Nelson stated. “I used to be all the time like, man, this child can deal with contact.”
Really, he can deal with far more than that.
Nelson has began at defensive finish in six of 4-3 BYU’s seven video games this season and leads the group with 4 tackles-for-loss, together with sacks in opposition to Baylor and Wyoming. Final yr, he was one in every of simply 26 gamers on BYU’s group to play in each sport, and had 1.5 sacks in opposition to Virginia and a key cross breakup within the 35-31 win at USC.
Nelson and the Cougars’ embattled protection are vowing enchancment this week after giving up 52 factors and 644 yards to Arkansas in a discouraging 52-35 loss final Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars depart for Virginia on Thursday and can face 6-1 Liberty at sold-out 25,000-seat Williams Stadium (1:30 p.m. MDT, ESPNU) on Saturday in Lynchburg.
“John has accomplished an ideal job, principally in his preparation within the offseason to get the place he's now,” coach Kalani Sitake stated a couple of weeks in the past. “We’re actually enthusiastic about the best way John has developed into a extremely good participant. He has an ideal work ethic.”
Teammates say that work ethic has made Nelson the strongest participant on the group, a label he disputes and downplays.
“I'm positively not the strongest, however I'm up there,” he stated. “I attempt my finest. Clearly the load room is an enormous a part of what we do. Half of soccer is being sturdy within the weight room.”
Nelson stated he has squatted 550 kilos and power-cleaned greater than 300 kilos.
“John Nelson, he retains getting higher every week,” defensive ends coach Preston Hadley stated after the 26-20 win over Baylor that featured a sack by Nelson. “He made plenty of performs, had a number of flashes within the sport the place he was taking part in at a extremely excessive stage.”
Loads of athletic function fashions
Nelson credit his cousin, former prep All-American linebacker Porter Gustin, and Anton Palepoi of Professional-Tech Trenches, for serving to him grow to be the bodily specimen he's now.
Gustin performed for USC from 2015-18 and is at present on the Miami Dolphins’ follow squad. He performed for the Cleveland Browns from 2019-21 and totaled 47 tackles and a sack and had two fumble recoveries.
“We communicate rather a lot,” Nelson stated. “We speak about movie, do stuff collectively within the offseason. We're all the time figuring out. He's all the time the toughest employee on the sphere, and within the defensive position room. I've realized rather a lot from him about what it takes to be defensive lineman.”
One other extremely completed athlete he emulates can also be at BYU. Girls’s basketball star Lauren Gustin is his cousin, and Porter Gustin’s sister. Lauren Gustin led the WCC and was No. 8 nationally in rebounding common (11.6) final season.
“She is an animal,” Nelson stated. “She takes it very severely and goes to be the toughest employee on the court docket, and I all the time attempt to do this with my profession. It's simply what we do.”
Sure, Nelson is surrounded by excellent athletes. Measurement, energy and athleticism are in his DNA.
His father, Dave Nelson, performed basketball for Boise State in 1988-89 and his grandfather performed soccer for the Broncos. His mom, Amberli Gustin, performed basketball for BYU from 1989-94.
“Yeah, we've been to plenty of video games,” Dave Nelson stated.
John Nelson’s aunt, Scarlett Overly (Porter and Lauren’s mother), performed basketball at BYU from 1987-89 and likewise performed at Wyoming. His uncle, John Gustin (Porter and Lauren’s father), was a quarterback for Wyoming.
Rising up, John Nelson had every kind of various allegiances, together with BYU, however the Cougars weren’t his clearcut selection.
“My mother performed at BYU, so we adopted them,” he stated. “Then my cousin went to USC and so I kinda cheered for USC a bit of bit. After which my dad performed at Boise State, and we lived in Boise for awhile, so it was kinda combined. I didn’t see myself for certain going to BYU, however I positively didn’t resist it, both.”
Attending to BYU
John Nelson was “sort of an under-the-radar recruit” at Salem Hills, in accordance with his father, as a result of he principally performed offensive line his first few years in highschool, and a bit of little bit of defensive position. The summer time earlier than his junior yr he earned most excellent offensive lineman at Boise State’s camp, and had provides from the Broncos and Utah State on the time.
The summer time earlier than his senior yr, nevertheless, he determined to focus solely on taking part in defensive position. BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki noticed Nelson at a camp at Weber State that summer time and supplied him on the spot as a defensive lineman.
“John was so excited to get that supply,” Dave Nelson stated. “BYU was all-in for John. … So the universities had been catching on that he was going to have nice measurement and was actually sturdy as a defensive position prospect.”
Nelson went to the 2019 sport through which Baylor Romney led BYU to a 28-25 upset win over No. 14 Boise State within the rain at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and every week later made an unofficial go to to BYU’s campus through the Cougars’ off week.
“John got here in and tried on the royal blue uniform, and he was all-in for the Cougars,” Dave Nelson stated. “As a result of BYU was so dedicated to John and had a plan for him, he was like, ‘That is it. I need to go right here.’”
It was a pleasant get for the Cougars, as a result of he had turn into a three-star recruit (ESPN and 247sports.com) and was a Deseret Information 5A All-State first-team choice. He tallied 50 tackles, 12 sacks, six tackles for loss and returned a fumble for a landing his senior season at Salem Hills.
NFL on the thoughts
John Nelson was a part of BYU’s 2020 recruiting class, and was planning to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints earlier than the pandemic hit. Having watched plenty of pals both return residence, get quarantined of their residences or get reassigned to a different mission, he determined to remain residence and deal with soccer. He finally grayshirted the 2020 season through which Zach Wilson led the Cougars to a 10-1 file.
In the summertime of 2020, he labored out with Porter Gustin and did the Cleveland Browns’ digital coaching camp together with his cousin as if he had been a member of the Browns.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake greets defensive lineman John Nelson (94) as he comes off the sphere in opposition to Oregon Sept. 17, 2022, in Eugene, Ore. Says Sitake of Nelson: “We’re actually enthusiastic about the best way John has developed into a extremely good participant. He has an ideal work ethic.”
Andy Nelson, Related Press
“He has been uncovered to discovering this additional gear, to discovering out how good he can turn into,” Dave Nelson stated. “He takes it very severe. He's his personal greatest critic. He has a excessive expectation of how he needs to play. He's very devoted to it.”
An older brother, James Nelson, led the state in scoring with a 25.0 common in basketball for Salem Hills in 2018 and performed for Northwest Nazarene and Dixie State (now Utah Tech). Two years older than John, James additionally acknowledged the potential in his youthful brother and pushed him to succeed.
“James simply challenged him to get into the load room, challenged him to not accept something much less and truly exit and see how good you will get, to seek out that additional gear,” Dave Nelson stated.
Youthful brothers Jackson Nelson — a senior quarterback at Salem Hills — and Jedediah “Jedi” Nelson, a sophomore who is predicted to inherit Jackson’s function the subsequent two years, are actually following of their brother and cousins’ footsteps.
One cousin has already made it to the NFL. Will John Nelson get there, too?
“That’s the objective,” he stated. “I’ve positively received an eye fixed on that. I'm already right here at BYU, which was one objective. I've labored my approach into this place, which I'm actually grateful for. However it's not sufficient simply to play. I need to be one of the best participant on the sphere, offense or protection.
“I'm all the time trying to do this. That’s the expectation I've for myself.”
In any case, “Nightmare” has huge goals.
Cougars on the air
BYU (4-3) at Liberty (6-1)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MDT
Williams Stadium
Lynchburg, Virginia
TV: ESPNU
Radio: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM