A QB on Defense
March 07, 2022 | Football, Joel Coleman
DeCarlos Nicholson’s switch to cornerback helped his career take off.
STARKVILLE – It was decision time for DeCarlos Nicholson.
Nicholson – now at Mississippi State after signing with the Bulldogs this past December – was a quarterback for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College back in 2020. Yet when the season wrapped, he wasn't so sure he wanted to be a signal caller anymore.
"I didn't start at quarterback and [a teammate and I] split time," Nicholson remembered. "As the season went on, my playing time got slimmer. So, we went into the offseason, and I just started working receiver. I worked corner. I worked quarterback. Then we got back to school, and I told the defensive coordinator, 'I'm coming with you.' I was about to go watch film with the offense, but I was like, 'I'm coming with y'all [on defense].' So, I did."
Just like that, Nicholson was a cornerback. It's turned out to be a life-changing, career-accelerating move.
By the time Nicholson put pen to paper to join the Bulldogs three months ago, he wasn't just a corner – he was one of the country's most-sought-after junior college defensive backs. Per 247Sports, Nicholson was the country's sixth-best juco prospect overall and No. 3 cornerback. This after a year at Gulf Coast where Nicholson made 19 tackles, including two for a loss, along with breaking up 16 passes.
It was Nicholson's first-ever year on defense. Even dating back to high school, Nicholson was primarily a quarterback. However, he fit on defense like a clanging cowbell fits in the hands of those that cram Davis Wade Stadium each fall.
But how? How did this pass thrower become so adept at shutting down other teams' air attacks? Well, Nicholson feels his own background has kept him a step ahead of the game.
"Football isn't really as much physical as it is mental," Nicholson explains. "Being a quarterback taught me how to think. I've noticed corners before that'd zone off mentally somewhere, but at quarterback, you have to be dialed in. So, I'm dialed in still [at corner]. I'm dialed in with everything in meetings – especially here [at MSU] because I'm new. So, I'm dialed in. I'm learning."
Nicholson pays attention to detail. It's a safe bet before the football is snapped, Nicholson is seeing things other defensive backs may not notice.
"I've already done that out here at 7-on-7," Nicholson said. "Like just knowing how the quarterback wants to get you to move around early to see if you can give away the coverage or anything like that. Or if I'm in zone coverage, I can see the whole field and I just know the concepts from playing quarterback. You can kind of tell, 'Alright, [the receiver is] going straight in so something is probably going to come behind him,' or something like that. It just makes it a little mentally easier."
Suffice to say, Nicholson still feels a bit like a quarterback between his ears – always thinking and always watching. He's just quarterbacking on the other side of the line of scrimmage now. In fact, that was part of his message to the Bulldogs in his recruiting process.
"I said, 'You're going to have two quarterbacks out here, I'll just be quarterback on the defense,'" Nicholson said. "It's just, I'll notice some things when we're out at 7-on-7. I'll notice, just from the splits or how guys come off the ball, it's like I can see if they're going inside before they even do it. Guys are like, 'How do you know that?' I'm like, 'I just know.'"
Nicholson's confidence, smarts and of course his tremendous athleticism and skill set is precisely what Mississippi State was wanting when it brought him onboard.
"He's exactly what we're looking for," State cornerbacks coach Darcel McBath said of Nicholson. "He's a guy that's going to come in and be a superstar at the cornerback position."
There is certainly a great deal of potential inside the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Nicholson. And remember, he's reached this level after just playing corner for one season. Imagine where he'll be in a year or two's time.
His physical tools give him hope for a professional playing future. His mental ability gives him a leg up on not only playing, but maybe being a coach himself someday. He already feels a bit like one when he's on the field anyway.
"If [playing] ever doesn't work out, or whenever this ends, that's a possibility for sure," Nicholson said of a possible future in coaching.
Nicholson already speaks like a coach. You know how almost every good coach you've ever heard talk remains committed to improvement, never becoming complacent? Well, that's Nicholson.
See, most players in Nicholson's shoes would already have the season opener in the fall circled. They'd be counting the days until they got to play in an actual game. Not Nicholson.
The present is too valuable. There's too much to do. There's too much to learn. He's a student of the game, always looking to get better and well, there's just too much quarterback still in him to feel like he's got it all figured out.
"I enjoy the offseason grind and how it builds the chemistry," Nicholson said. "I am ready to suit up, but I don't think I'm really ready yet. So, I'll wait. When we get there to September, then I'll be ready."
Players Mentioned
