Nevada defensive lineman Tristan Nichols has beaten every Mountain West school except for the one he nearly attended.
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound senior leads the Wolf Pack with six sacks in just four games entering Saturday’s game against Hawaii at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nev.
The Rainbow Warriors have won both games against the Wolf Pack since Nichols transferred from Arizona Western College in 2019.
Nichols headed north to Nevada after his second year of junior college instead of following through on his original plan of flying back home to play for Nick Rolovich.
“I kind of made a silent commitment to (Rolovich) and so I could have been there,” Nichols said in a phone interview Tuesday. “It’s just crazy to see how life works out and goes on.”
Playing football in college seemed crazy while growing up on Maui since Nichols was a basketball player.
His career didn’t begin until high school, when he finally gave in and showed up to practice after he was persuaded by the coach, who saw his size.
After participating in a showcase on Oahu between his junior and senior seasons, Nichols decided to transfer to Saint Louis, but there was one problem.
He had only played tight end, and at Saint Louis, there’s no room for a tight end in the run-and-shoot.
“Yeah they don’t use tight ends, so the coaches decided to try me out on defense,” Nichols said.
Nichols had some raw talent, but playing at Saint Louis meant playing with some of the best players in the state.
Nichols played as a backup in the loss to Kahuku in the 2015 state final and at the time, he thought that was it for his football career.
He was planning to play basketball at Delaware State when a 9 a.m. phone call on football signing day in February 2016 changed everything.
“I was getting recruited (in football) because there were so many college coaches around with so much talent at Saint Louis,” Nichols said. “My grades weren’t good enough for Division I and I didn’t even know what junior college was until signing day.
“A couple of my teammates were going to Arizona Western and I got a call from the coach that day. They wanted to pay for my school and my meal plan and everything, so I felt like that was a better opportunity.”
Even as he began his college career, he was still incredibly raw. Two years of junior college helped him see the potential he had.
“I’ve tried to do the best I could, and everything has kind of paid off,” Nichols said. “We had like 15 guys my freshman year (at Arizona Western) go (to Division I) so there were coaches always coming through practice. I just had to play good my sophomore year and I felt like everything would take care of itself.”
Nichols started earning looks from power conferences and was set to attend Oregon State before a coaching change altered the Beavers’ recruiting strategy of taking in junior college players.
The parallels between Nichols’ high school and college recruitment continued as Nevada made a last-minute recruiting pitch, which ultimately won him over.
“I felt comfortable with them and took a visit a week after they offered and it just seemed too good to pass up,” he said.
Nichols had four sacks in his first year with Nevada, finishing second on the team, He tore his ACL at the end of the season and was home in Hawaii on spring break when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Everything shut down immediately, including where he went for physical therapy on his knee.
“I was back on Maui for like four months and didn’t come back (to Nevada) until July,” Nichols said. “I ended up having to do a whole bunch of at-home workouts and I felt like I kind of got set back in my rehab process.”
Nichols was on a snap count for much of last season, but had four tackles and his only two sacks of the season in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
A few months later, Nichols was cleared to practice without the knee brace, and it was only then he began to feel normal again.
“I didn’t feel sluggish and cautious (without the brace),” Nichols said. “I think it was a mental thing for me. Seeing (the brace) made me feel like I wasn’t 100%.”
Nichols isn’t listed on the Nevada depth chart this week, but it hasn’t kept him from registering six sacks in his past three games.
He might get to rush his former high school teammate, Chevan Cordeiro, who missed a game with an injury but is expected to play. He definitely will get to play against some familiar faces from his senior year with the Crusaders.
“I definitely knew more guys two years ago when I first played them, but I still know a handful and it’s awesome to play them,” Nichols said. “Just super excited.”
TRISTAN NICHOLS
>> School: Nevada
>> Class: Senior
>> Position: Defensive tackle
>> Height: 6 feet 4
>> Weight: 245 pounds
>> High school: Saint Louis (2016)
