Murphy – As a senior at Murphy, Micah Nelson transitioned from wide receiver to quarterback because the Bulldogs needed someone to step in at the position.
He thought he would move back to either wide receiver or defensive back when he went to Western Carolina as a preferred walk-on, but he’s once again settled into a new position for the Catamounts. For the last two years, Nelson has been playing defensive end. However, it took a lot of hard work, including transforming his body, to get there.
“I was just looking to get on the field as fast as possible,” Nelson said. “I guess God blessed me and (with) hard work, and I just kept getting bigger and bigger.”
When he got to Western Carolina in 2019, Nelson had to make the adjustment every player makes in college. He was no longer “the man” on campus, and had to get used to the speed of the game and size of the players. For him, that involved taking a redshirt year to try to gain weight.
Nelson said he would wake up at 6:45 a.m. to eat with the coaches. It was a struggle at first, as he would throw up in the bathroom before heading to class. It wasn’t until when he was back home in the spring due to COVID-19 that he fully adjusted to trying to gain weight.
His dad, Thomas Nelson, who used to be Murphy football’s defensive coordinator and now coaches at Union County High School in Blairsville, Ga. His son consulted with some strength and conditioning coaches he knew to come up with a plan.
Micah would have to eat one meal before 10 a.m., which was usually a stack of 10 pancakes. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. he would eat again, usually eggs with bacon or sausage. Around 3 p.m., he would eat again, typically peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He would eat whatever was for dinner, then try to get in another peanut butter and jelly, or a turkey sandwich, before going to bed.
Coming into college, Nelson was 6-foot-3 inches tall and weighed 195 pounds. Today, he’s 6’4” and weighs close to 260 pounds, but will probably play the season around 250-255 pounds.
“He’s a big rascal now,” Thomas Nelson said.
On the field, Micah was realistic with his goals. He started off just wanting to make the travel squad for games, then get playing time on special teams.
After redshirting his freshman year, Western Carolina had a split season in 2020-21, playing three non-conference games in November before playing its six Southern Conference games in the spring. He played in all nine games, recording 27 tackles. Last season, Micah started every game in a hybrid defensive end-linebacker role, recording 33 tackles.
Though he was learning a new position, Nelson had a few things working for him. In high school, he was the team’s signal caller on defense, making adjustments and putting people in the right place before the snap. He had a similar role at Western Carolina last year along the defensive line.
“When I got to college, they were surprised about how knowledgeable I was of the game and how easily I caught onto stuff,” Nelson said.
Due to his efforts after his redshirt freshman year, Micah was put on scholarship by the coaching staff. Unfortunately, that coaching staff was fired, and the new regime did not honor the scholarship.
Though he didn’t want the situation to overwhelm, Thomas said he did use it as a chip on his shoulder. He beat out some scholarship players for a starting job, then was put on scholarship again after the 2021 season.
“My whole thing was if I play good, it’ll happen,” Micah said. “All I had to do was do what I do and not let that stress or overtake me.”
Heading into this season, Micah said he wants to work on his pass rush, which was challenging at times against bigger linemen. He weighed about 230 pounds last season and is heavier today, so that shouldn’t be as much of a challenge. Since he’s an upperclassmen, too, he also wants to be a better leader.
Once again, he’s set reasonable goals, like he
did earlier in his college career. It’s only a matter of chasing them down like the others.
“He’s in his own little world and doesn’t let little things bother him,” Thomas Nelson said.
“He just keeps working, and I’m proud to see he works hard enough to achieve some of those goals.”