Name: Raymond Nelson
Position: Tight End
Rank: 26(S) / N/R(R) / N/R (E)
Positional Need: 4/10
Outlook: This is no case of nepotism.
Raymond Nelson is out to prove he’s a lot more than Reeves’ younger brother.
The younger Nelson had a standout career at Modesto Christian, as both a tight end and defensive end, and he blew UCLA coaches away at summer camps, ending up with a rather quick offer.
His receiving abilities are very advanced, and he could turn into a Ryan Moya-type tight end for the Bruins. He runs very good routes for a tight end, and the word is he needs to improve his run blocking.
Nelson rose up the rankings throughout last preseason and early in the season, and had offers from Oregon, Cal, Washington and Oregon State, among others.
Immediate Impact: 3/10 – With entrenched upper-classmen Cory Harkey and Joseph Fauria in the lineup and John Young returning from injury that sidelined him the whole year, Nelson could benefit from a redshirt year.
Overall Impact: 6/10 – Very solid pass-catcher who could be grow into tweener role if he doesn’t put on a ton of weight.
Notable Quotables:
“All of the talks I’ve had with Coach Neuheisel and the other coaches, they said I have the potential to play a lot as long as I keep my weight training. I want to come in at 250, so that’s 10 more pounds. I’m 6-5 right now. I think my 4-5 years there will be the best years of my life. We’re trying to convince my mom to move down there.” – Nelson, to Scout.com’s Brandon Huffman in January
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