Richland standout, SMU commit C.J. Nelson makes smooth transition from WR back to QB - The Dallas Morning News

After years of making his mark as a receiver, Richland’s C.J. Nelson found out about two weeks ago he would be moving to quarterback, a position he hasn’t played in years.

It turned out that there was little rust for Nelson running an offense, and he could be spectacular doing it on short notice.

Nelson passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 153 yards and three touchdowns to lead Richland to a 52-29 win over long-time rival Haltom last Friday. It was the first time the 6-foot, 173-pound senior played quarterback on a regular basis since playing for North Richland Middle School in the seventh grade. It was his first time playing quarterback at all since running Wildcat-formation plays for the Richland freshman team three years ago.

Last year as a receiver, Nelson had 48 receptions for 1,079 yards and 14 touchdowns. He verbally committed to SMU in June.

Last month however, projected starting quarterback Bryce Morton suffered a knee injury. Richland coach Ged Kates said he felt putting Nelson at quarterback was the best chance for the Royals to be successful. Nelson found out he would be playing quarterback in the week leading up to a scrimmage against The Colony on Aug. 19.

“I felt like I would get ups and downs, but at the end of the day it was about helping the team and I felt happy about the switch,” Nelson said. “At this time, it’s about Richland football. SMU football, that can wait a whole year.”

Nelson said the transition has been made smoother because of how his teammates have helped him, especially receivers such as Dominique Johnson and Mark Zamora. Johnson had five receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns against Haltom while Zamora had five receptions for 81 yards.

Nelson said he felt especially good about running the ball, where he averaged 17.0 yards per carry against Haltom, but needs to improve on passing accuracy leading into Thursday’s game against Fort Worth Paschal at the Birdville Fine Arts and Athletics Center in North Richland Hills. He was 13 for 21 on pass attempts against Haltom with one interception.

Nelson said he is hopeful what he does at quarterback for Richland now will expand his football knowledge by the time he gets to SMU and beyond.

“The most challenging part is reading defenses,” Nelson said. “Once I get it down I’ll be able to read 11 defenders instead of just two when I play receiver.”

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Richland standout, SMU commit C.J. Nelson makes smooth transition from WR back to QB - The Dallas Morning News
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