National recruiting analyst praises Canes commit Luke Nickel at Battle Miami

Three-star 2025 quarterback Luke Nickel was praised by 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins for his performance at the Battle Miami this weekend. Nickel was the first commit in the 2025 Miami football class in August 2023. Nickel is the 413th prospect, 30th QB and 49th player in Georgia in the 2025 247Sports composite rankings.

In the last two seasons at Milton, Georgia, Nickel has thrown for 6,421 yards, 63 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, while running for 389 yards and another nine scores. Listed at 6’2 and 205 pounds, Nickel has good size at QB. In his scouting report of Nickel, Ivins states that Nickel reads the entire field well.

Nickel committed to Miami after visiting in August. Miami received a second visit from Nickel in September. According to his 247Sports profile, Nickel also visited Florida State and Michigan State before committing to Miami. The On3 profile for Nickel lists him with visits to eight schools that do not include Michigan State.

Nickel has improved his accuracy significantly accuracy from his sophomore to junior year. As a sophomore in 2022, Nickel completed 58.5 percent of his passes. Nickel improved to 66.1 percent as a junior in 2023. Ivins summarized the performance by Nickel at Battle Miami.

“–Luke Nickel, QB, Miami commit: It was an overall solid showing for Nickel, who had Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton calling plays for him. Nickel got off to a slower start this past fall, but picked things up in a big way, leading Milton to a 13-2 record and a state title in Georgia’s highest classification. He seemed to pick things up right where he left off on Saturday, flashing clean mechanics and plenty of tight spirals. It wasn’t a perfect day for Nickel as there were a few misfires, but he was one of the few signal callers that wasn’t afraid to throw the ball into the teeth of a defense. Kentucky recently offered Nickel, but he seems to be solid on his early pledge to the Hurricanes.”

– Andrew Ivins, 247Sports

Battle Miami is a huge weekend for the Hurricanes’ football program. Miami 2025 commits, linebacker Elijah Melendez and wide receiver Waden Charles were also in attendance at Battle Miami, as were several high-priority Miami targets.

Miami currently has the 20th-ranked 2025 class. The Hurricanes have the highest-ranked class among programs with only three commits. Mario Cristobal is very deliberate and methodical in his recruiting. Expect Miami to move up significantly in the 2025 class rankings.

Ivins also included five-star cornerback D.J. Pickett among his “eye-catchers” at the Battle Miami. Pickett is a high priority for Miami and the cousin of four-star edge rusher and 2024 Hurricanes’ signee Booker Pickett Jr. There will be multiple other targets to watch in the 2025 Miami class out of Battle Miami.