Nelson ready to breakout
Last season, Duncanville (Texas) pro-style quarterback Jaylin Nelson was not allowed to play football. He didn't fail classes, he didn't get into trouble, and it certainly wasn't due to a lack of talent. Nelson moved from DeSoto high school to Duncanville high school after his sophomore year, after a season where he burst onto the scene as the backup to the injured starting quarterback and eventual Oregon signee - Tristen Wallace.
Several people made the judgement that Nelson and his parents made the move for athletic purposes. In a long and drawn out process, the UIL eventually ruled Nelson ineligible to play for Duncanville this past season.
"Most people haven't seen me actually play for a whole season, or over a year ago," Nelson said. "I'm just ready to play and get this entire situation behind me. I feel like it's going to become a breakout story and I'm working hard to make the most of my senior season."
Long before all of the drama briefly detailed above, Nelson earned a scholarship offer from the Texas Tech coaching staff and remains in touch with Coach Emmett Jones on a weekly basis.
"With Texas Tech, we're still good," Nelson said. "I still talk with Coach Jones on a daily basis, if not every other day. We have a good relationship and we talk about my off-season, the things that I'm working on, and what the season is looking like for us here at Duncanville.
"Coach Jones wants me to come in and become a playermaker in their offense, regardless of position. We haven't talked about any position specifically, but I understand that I have to prepare for anything at the next level."
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound prospect visited the South Plains this past season and has discussed another visit with the coaches for this spring.
"Coach Jones and I talked about setting up a visit for one of their spring practices," Nelson said. "I'm not sure about the dates, but he's going to come and see me during our spring practices here at Duncanville and we will figure out the dates.
"I recently added my second offer from Texas State and I'm going to setup a visit for one of their junior days soon. The other schools that I'm looking to visit this spring are TCU, Houston, Rice, LSU, Arkansas, and a few others."
Nelson, a longtime Red Raiders' target, also shared his thoughts on the recent Texas Tech 2016 signing class.
"I was looking at their results on signing day and noticed a lot of recruits from the Dallas area," Nelson said. "I can see how they are trying to improve the program and I'm excited to see what they do moving forward."
Rated a three-star prospect, Nelson is the No. 95 overall prospect on the Rivals.com Texas Postseason Top 100 for the 2017 class. He will compete at the Rivals Camp in Dallas on March 19th.