The right move: How former San Jose State backup quarterback became the nation’s leading receiver

SAN JOSE — Nick Nash decided three seasons ago that a position change was needed in order to get on the field.

The Spartan senior never expected this.

Nash leads the nation in receptions (50) receptions per game (12.5) and touchdowns catches (8) heading into the Spartans’ game against Nevada on Saturday at CEFCU Stadium.

“He’s doing exactly what I knew he could do,” former SJSU wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Eric Scott said this week.

Nash, who arrived on campus in 2019 as a quarterback, set a regular-season school record with 17 receptions against Kennesaw State in SJSU’s third game of the season. Six days later, he caught 16 passes. Nobody in school history had ever caught more than 15 passes in a regular season game.

The Southern California native needs just 10 more catches to crack SJSU’s Top 20 list for receptions in a season. He’s on pace to obliterate Edell Shepherd’s school record of 83 set in 2001.

This week he was added to the prestigious Biletnikoff Award Watch. The award honors the most outstanding receiver in the FBS regardless of position.

“It’s crazy to see my name on that watch list,” Nash said.

Nash’s evolution into a record-setting receiver began when Chevan Cordiero transferred to San Jose State in spring of 2022 from Hawaii. Nash, SJSU’s top returning candidate to replace Nick Starkel but knew he was in for a battle for the starting quarterback spot.

Nash shared some of the quarterback duties as a freshman with then-senior Josh Love, appearing in six games mostly in wildcat formations and finished second on the team in rushing. A year later his big quarterback moment came when he helped SJSU rally past San Diego State.

But when Nash realized he wasn’t going to be the starter in 2022  he knew exactly where to pivot.

He had always playfully joined wide receiver drills at practice to run routes. He left an impression.

“Woah, this dude got hops,” Scott recalled thinking of Nash. “As a receiver coach, you’re always looking to see if you can turn anybody into a receiver.”

Nash asked Scott if he thought he had enough talent to make the NFL as a wide receiver when quarterback was out of the picture for him.

“I told him absolutely,” Scott said.

The opportunity to play in the NFL was Nash’s driving factor in deciding to become a receiver.

Scott, the now West LA College head coach, is someone Nash considers to be an important person in his transition from quarterback to wide receiver.

“I feel like I had made an impact up to that point on the team as a running quarterback and I thought it was finally my shot to play and start,” Nash said.  “Unfortunately it wasn’t. I didn’t want to be a backup after all of the contributions I’ve made to the team.”

Nash approached Scott, then-head coach Brent Brennan and then-offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven about making the switch after being Cordeiro’s backups for a few games.

The decision was unanimous.

The one thing Scott did not want Nash to do was come into the wide receiver room with the leadership mentality of a quarterback.

“The receiver room, it’s a diva room,” Scott said. “I wanted him to focus more on being a receiver before becoming the leader of the room and let your play speak for you and then they’ll respect you.”

Scott said he knew Nash was athletic enough to play the position but cited Nash’s ability to track down deep balls as what defined him as a potential great wide receiver.

“A receiver has to have a certain arrogance to him and Nash had it,” Scott said. “He grew into it and I see it now.”

Scott has previously coached wide receivers who made an appearance on the Biletnikoff Award’s watch list in Elijah Cooks and Romeo Doubs at Nevada.

He said those receivers really wanted to go to the league like Nash. Those two are now on NFL rosters. Doubs on the Green Bay Packers and Cooks on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

When Brent Brennan left for Arizona in January, Nash considered leaving. He went as far as entering the transfer portal but removed his name the same day. Offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann’s spread-and-shred offense was a major selling point in Nash’s choice to stay at SJSU.

“They promised me these things. They said, ‘You’re gonna get the ball a lot, you’re gonna get a lot of yards,’” Nash said of the new coaching regime.

New head coach Ken Niumatalolo has repeatedly expressed his gratitude that Nash decided to stay at SJSU, and his thankfulness was only further confirmed when he saw Nash get on the field.

“There’s so many intricate details in Stutzmann’s offense and so there’s a learning curve,” Niuamtalolo said. “You can see him go from the meetings out in the field and he was able to translate it into doing stuff on the field where some guys, it took a lot more reps than him.”

Having the knowledge of a quarterback has only helped Nash in his ascension to the wide receiver one at SJSU.

“I see coverages, I understand the receiver from a quarterback’s perspective,” Nash said. “We have a lot of options (as wide receivers) and they’re all based off coverage.”

For Nash the goal was always the next level regardless of position.

“Once I started playing, I realized that (wide receiver) suited me and my athleticism better,” Nash said. “Then I thought, ‘Why not me?’”

To this point of the season Nash said he’s heard from more than 20 agents after only hearing from a couple last year and this training camp.

“It’s crazy to see his journey, that he’s there now,” Love said. “Looking at it now, I would love to have thrown to him, that’s for sure.”

Nash is tied for fifth in Spartans history with 17 touchdown receptions with only 18 games as a true wide receiver.

After last season, when Nash led SJSU wide receivers in receptions, yards and touchdowns Scott knew the former quarterback had the correct mentality for his new position.

“Attitude-wise, he had become a receiver,” Scott said. “He wanted the ball.”

And the Spartans are more than happy to keep getting the ball to Nash.