Vista PEAK OL Braylen Nelson commits to Fresno State

Brandon Boles

July 18, 2020 @ 07:43 PM

Another top recruit from the state of Colorado is heading to a Mountain West Conference school in the fall of 2021. On Saturday, Vista PEAK offensive lineman announced his commitment to play football at Fresno State via social media. https://twitter.com/NelsonBraylen/status/1284617266143752192 "It feels great," Nelson said. "I feel a lot of pressure coming off of me. It was a grueling process, but I'm glad it's finally over." Nelson had his final list narrowed to Fresno State, Colorado, Wyoming and San Diego State before making his commitment. He was previously linked to Colorado before the school’s coaching change with former head coach Mel Tucker. Despite the restrictions placed on recruiting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fresno State was able to win Nelson over by looking at the long-term goals on and off the field with him. "I think they've handled it greatly with the virtual calls and being able to see each other face-to-face," Nelson said. "(Fresno State) took me serious as a player and as a man, too. They want to develop me and not just in football. They want to build a relationship that goes further than football, like it's a 40-year decision and not a 4-year decision to go to Fresno State. I really saw that and felt it was nice." Ranked the No. 2 offensive lineman and No. 9 overall prospect by Prep Redzone Colorado, Nelson is an experienced starter for the surging Vista PEAK program. At 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, he has great size and strength on the offensive line. He has played at tackle and does a good job driving his feet to move defenders off the line of scrimmage when he gets latched on. He helped open up running lanes for another top prospect on his team, running back Ja"Derris Carr-Kersh, and the Bison averaged 331.8 rushing yards per game and went undefeated in the 2019 regular season. Nelson has also played at defensive tackle for the Bison and has recorded 128 tackles, 9.5 sacks and recovered 3 fumbles. This offseason, most of the focus for Nelson has been working to improve as a pass blocker for the 2020 season. "I've been working a lot in pass protection," Nelson said. "I'm working to take smaller steps when dropping back. My run-game (blocking) I feel really good about, so it's been a lot with pass protection stuff. I've been working out and trying to stay healthy." Nelson becomes the ninth commit to Fresno State for the Class of 2021. As for the top prospects in Colorado, seven of the top 10 prospects as determined by Prep Redzone Colorado have made their verbal commitments for college with Nelson’s decision.