Quarterback Malachi Nelson, a highly touted five-star prospect with limited Division I experience, is transferring from Boise State to UTEP with three years left of eligibility, ESPN's Pete Thamel first reported on Sunday.

Though he was the No. 1 prospect by ESPN in the class of 2023, Nelson is now seeking his third stop in three years. He was the backup for eventual No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams at USC. He transferred to Boise State last offseason but lost the quarterback battle in the preseason to Maddux Madsen. He's attempted 20 passes in his two seasons, with limited playing time thus far.

So how did Scotty Walden and company land a player with as much pedigree as Nelson? With reportedly bigger schools in the mix and more money for Nelson elsewhere, what does this say about Walden's recruiting ability so far at UTEP?

Let's dive into what we know.

Early signing day QB signing

Excited about the late-season momentum they received, Walden proudly announced his early signing day class in December with 27 signees—26 of them being from the high school ranks. The recruiting class ranked third in Group of Five programs nationally, no. 1 for Group of Five schools in Texas and no. 1 in CUSA, per 247 Sports.

At the time, Walden talked about recently signed freshman Chad Warner and how the Cibolo Steele graduate "acts like a transfer." Then, Walden left the door open to recruiting more quarterbacks during the open window of the transfer portal.

"Our mentality in the portal is we're going to look at all positions because we have to create an elite level of competition in every single room," Walden said back on early signing day. "When you win three games, everyone needs to understand that no one has a starting spot. We're starting fresh and it's going to be the ultimate level of competition."

Finding Malachi Nelson through a sea of transfers

As it's been for the first four years of its existence, the transfer portal flooded with thousands of players seeking a new home when the portal window first opened up in December.

UTEP had players hit the portal and already announced transfer destinations. Most notably, stellar defensive end Kyran Duhon parlayed his freshman season and committed to Oklahoma State. Other names in the portal for UTEP include running back Jevon Jackson, corner AJ Odums, edge rusher Maurice Westmoreland (seeking an extra JUCO year) and defensive back Amier Boyd-Matthews. But, none of the quarterbacks projected to return next year have entered the portal up to this point—Skyler Locklear, Cade McConnell, JP Pickles and Shay Smith.

Walden and his staff reportedly began hosting quarterback prospects on visits over the past month. Some of the reported targets included Dartmouth's Jackson Proctor (1,564 passing yards, 13 touchdowns in 2024), UTSA's Jackson Gillkey and Western Kentucky's TJ Finley (490 passing yards, 1 touchdown in 2024).

Then came Nelson, who visited El Paso before the holiday break. Nelson attended a UTEP men's basketball game during the West Star Don Haskins Basketball Invitational.

Nelson threw for 2,898 passing yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior at Los Alamitos High School—coincidently, the same high school that Cade McConnell went to. Nelson won back-to-back California Gatorade Player of the Year awards. He had offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame out of high school.

Most decorated UTEP signing since Fred Rouse

Before Nelson, there was Fred Rouse. Nelson has already been touted as the "most decorated recruit in UTEP history." While this holds true for some, let's not forget about the last five-star prospect the Miners signed: Fred Rouse.

Rouse was an All-American high school receiver out of Tallahassee, Florida, and ranked as a five-star recruit by Rivals in 2005. He was considered the No. 1 receiver in his class and a top-10 overall prospect. Rouse told ESPN that he felt he could go immediately to the NFL and skip college altogether.

After his freshman season with the Seminoles and upon dealing with off-the-field troubles, Rouse joined Mike Price's UTEP squad in 2006, where he sat out due to NCAA transfer rules. He appeared in just 10 games and caught 25 catches for 379 yards before he left UTEP in 2008.

So, how did Nelson to UTEP happen?

Several contributing factors led Nelson to UTEP when it was all said and done. He reportedly turned down "bigger schools" and "more money" because he believes in the plan of Walden and the program UTEP is building, per Thamel of ESPN.

The Goldmine Collective was formed last April to support NIL (name, image and likeness) opportunities for all UTEP student-athletes and sports programs. Thanks to support from NIL, UTEP is able to be in discussions with high-level recruits like Nelson. Lane Frank of Schoolyard Sports, who serves on the advisory board of the Goldmine Collective, hinted that he will talk with Nelson on his upcoming podcast about how this materialized.

After Nelson's visit to El Paso in December, there were a few schools that pursued him in the portal. Most notably, Marshall pushed for the California product, sources told 600 ESPN El Paso.

While some may view Nelson's inexperience and his transfer to three schools in three years as a concern, one can't ignore the national attention his commitment has brought to UTEP's program. Nelson's signing could provide the Miners with a crucial boost of momentum as they approach the final stretch of offseason recruiting, helping them secure more recruits to fill positions on both offense and defense.

They need a new starting running back. They need experience on their offensive line. They need to replace starters on defense. They are in the market for defensive linemen, defensive backs and linebackers. And, based on some of their recent offers on social media, they might be looking for more kickers and punters. 

Rejoice, UTEP fans. Momentum is cooking for UTEP football in the offseason and the Nelson signing catapults things in the right direction for offseason recruiting.

I expect Nelson to compete for a starting quarterback job at UTEP from day one, battling against returning starter Locklear and McConnell, who also has starting experience. Similarly, Smith and Pickles, though young, had flashes of success in 2024.