Big Sky Conference

Oregon DE Nelson ready to be a Griz

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It didn’t take long for RJ Nelson to become enamored with Missoula.

The Hillsboro (Oregon) High senior first came to the Garden City after earning an invite to Montana’s individual football camp in July of 2016. The Griz first saw the rangy 6-foot-4, 218-pound defensive end at the Northwest Elite Showcase camp last spring and offered him after seeing him work out in Missoula.

Nelson liked the vibe of the town and the atmosphere on the UM campus. But he held several other offers as his recruitment picked up over the summer. Portland State came calling. Eastern Washington, the Big Sky Conference champions five of the last seven years, offered Nelson. Idaho got in the mix to give Nelson FBS credentials. Utah State nearly pulled the trigger on an offer.

But the courting of the aggressive player came to an abrupt end on Labor Day weekend. Nelson took an unofficial visit to Montana and got his first taste of Washington-Grizzly Stadium during UM’s 41-31 season-opening win over St. Francis. Nelson verbally committed later that weekend.

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Photos contributed by RJ Nelson. All Rights Reserved. 

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About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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