Florida Running Back Craig Nelson Commits To Indiana
Indiana got into the recruiting race for 2017 running back Craig Nelson just a mere weeks ago, but that didn't slow the Hoosiers from landing Nelson's commitment on Sunday.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound prospect out of Miami, Florida, committed to play for IU running backs coach Deland McCullough the same weekend he took an official visit to Bloomington.
He's commitment No. 21 for the Hoosiers in the upcoming signing class.
"I had to jump on this," Nelson said. "This is Big Ten football. I can't ask for more."
Nelson played defensive back his first two years of high school for Booker T. Washington before moving to running back before his junior year. It was around that same time that McCullough started reaching out and showing interest.
McCullough watched on as Nelson went from a 500-yard back as a junior to a 1,000-yard back with 15 touchdowns as a senior. A speedster by nature, Nelson said McCullough was impressed with his quickness and natural elusiveness as a rusher.
Things began to heat up this past month when McCullough visited Nelson's home on Jan. 18 and extended a scholarship offer the next day. Nelson then visited Bloomington this past weekend and was sold on the Hoosiers over his other offer from Idaho.
"This weekend was a great experience for me," Nelson said. "Me and my family had a great time. There was wonderful weather, a lot of fun. It was just the place for me."
And McCullough is the man to play for.
"Coach McCullough is a cool, cool dude," Nelson said. "He came to my house a couple of weeks ago, and my family loved him. He gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. He didn't have to choose me, but I earned it. He took a chance on me, but now I'm just appreciative of it."
Nelson admits there was a certain level of risk involved between his sophomore year and junior year when he made the switch from defensive back to running back. He grew up playing running back and loved the position but knew it would be a radical change from being a corner or safety that he just had to make.
"At DB, I really wasn't functioning right," he said. "I had to make that decision of a lifetime to switch back to running back."
Nelson would join friends at the beach, elementary schools or whatever open land they could find to work out together. They'd spend hours putting in sweat equity knowing that football was an opportunity to get out of Miami and pursue an education.
At Indiana, Nelson plans to study business management.
"We had to make it out of the hood, you know?" he said. "That's what we did."
This whole recruiting process was a whirlwind, Nelson said, but he's glad to have been able to go through it. The last week in particular has been a life-changing experience for the future Hoosier.
All told, Nelson went into his visit thinking Indiana would be the place to go. He previously saw the Hoosiers on television and knew about Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard going from IU to the NFL.
He was aware of McCullough's track record and liked the job new head coach Tom Allen was doing in his short time in Bloomington already. The pieces were all in place for him to give his pledge.
Now that he has, all he needs to do is wait about a week to sign his national letter of intent and make it official.
A dream has been fulfilled.
"This is a great feeling, man," Nelson said. "When I told my mom, she started crying. It's just special for my family."
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.