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LOS ANGELES — Malachi Nelson is back home for only a few days, but it doesn’t take long for him to get comfortable.
It’s an idyllic weekday in July on the westside of Los Angeles where the weather can only be described as perfect. Nelson is decked out in designer garb while taking a break from packing for his flight that night. In the short span of time he has spent in L.A. on this particular trip, the self-described foodie has already made sure to hit his favorite burger spot and Italian restaurant. It will be months before he’s able to do that again.
“L.A. has always just been home,” Nelson said. “It’s always had everything I’ve ever needed.”
All Nelson has ever known is Southern California. The former five-star prospect and No. 1 player in his recruiting class was born and raised in the region. When he was committed to Lincoln Riley — then Oklahoma’s coach — there was an acknowledgment that he’d have to leave for Norman eventually. But once Riley took the job at USC, there was no hesitation from Nelson and the rest of his family. He would now get to play for his ideal coach in his hometown for the program he grew up rooting for. It was almost too perfect.
But Boise, Idaho? That was never in the plan he and his father, Eric, had been crafting since before he was a teenager. And yet that’s where Nelson’s flight is headed in a few hours.
“I didn’t want to leave,” Nelson said. “USC was my dream school. Coach Riley was the coach I wanted to play for. I never dreamt in a million years that I would leave.”
It has been eight months since Nelson committed to Boise State out of the transfer portal following a year at USC that was hampered by injury and dramatically changed Nelson’s perspective on what he expected his college career to look like. The process — from one decision to another — was far from easy, but to hear Nelson and those closest to him talk about it, it was necessary.
“It’s been a year of transition, a year of…
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