Illinois cornerback Tahveon Nicholson commits to Ole Miss
The recruiting momentum continues for Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin with the addition of Illinois cornerback Tahveon Nicholson. The Jacksonville, Fla., prospect announced it via Twitter Saturday. He is the No. 4-ranked cornerback prospect in On3’s NCAA Transfer Portal player rankings. He is the 43rd overall prospect in the portal as well.
As a junior, the 5-foot-11, 180 pounder made 36 tackles and two tackles for loss. He also chipped in six pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. As a junior he started 10 games before missing the last three due to injury. Before he was hurt, he had 19 tackles, six pass breakups, one interception and one tackle for loss.
Nicholson is the second defensive pickup for Pete Golding, joining Arkansas linebacker Chris Paul Jr.
Tahveon Nicholson was the No. 6 overall prospect coming out of prep school in 2019.
He was the second-ranked athlete and No. 1 overall recruit in South Carolina when he graduated from Palmetto Prep. At Lee (Fla.), he finished his prep career with 25 total touchdowns, including two interception returns and punt return.
After a few starts in his freshman season, Nicholson started 10 games at cornerback for the nation’s top-ranked scoring defense in 2022. In three seasons, he made 66 tackles, 15 pass breakups, three forced fumbles and an interception. He was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and won the Howard Griffith Impact Player award in 2022.
During his time at Illinois, he was recruited and coached by current Ole Miss cornerbacks coach Keynodo Hudson. The redshirt junior will have two years of eligibility remaining.
