Four-star Miami QB signee Luke Nickel named MaxPreps Georgia High School Football Player of the Year

Four-star quarterback Luke Nickel is one of the prized recruits of Miami's 2025 class. The standout from Milton High School (Georgia) was named 2024 MaxPreps Georgia High School Football Player of the Year this week after leading the Eagles to a perfect 15-0 record and a 56-35 victory over Langston Hughes in the AAAAA state championship.

Nickel completed 21 of 22 passes for 413 yards and four touchdowns, while also adding 56 rushing yards. He joins an elite group of past MaxPreps Georgia Players of the Year, including Travis Hunter (2020, 2021), Caleb Downs (2022) and Jeremy Hecklinski (2023).

"Luke Nickel was sharp all night, and he mixed in a few nice runs to go with the precision passes," Chad Simmons of On3 said. "It is hard to name another player in Georgia who has improved more than Nickel over the last two seasons."

The Touchdown Club of Atlanta also announced Nickel as the Mr. Georgia Award Winner. He finished his high school career leading the Eagles to 25 back-to-back wins.

Nickel's performance capped off a remarkable season in which he threw for 3,743 yards and 44 touchdowns for seven interceptions, while also adding 300 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He passed for 1,431 yards and 20 touchdowns for zero interceptions while adding 178 rushing yards and three scores in five postseason games.

Last year, Luke Nickel recorded 3,914 yards and 39 touchdowns against five interceptions. Despite his accolades and consistent dominance, recruiting rankings have been mixed. While On3 and Rivals rate him as a four-star prospect, 247Sports and ESPN consider him a three-star.

High School coach raves about Luke Nickel

Luke Nickel has been Miami’s longest-tenured 2025 commit and completed his signing with the Hurricanes on the early signing period on Dec. 4. Milton coach Ben Reaves raved about his caliber, saying (via Miami Herald):

“He’s truly running a complete offense with a lot of checks. He has a good amount of power out there to get us into some good plays based on certain looks. That just shows his maturity and just overall football IQ and knowledge."

Nickel’s toughness sets him apart, and Reaves noted that if Nickel weren’t the team’s quarterback, he would be their starting middle linebacker.

"He is just that tough,” Reaves said. “He’s that blue collar. He had a little little thumb tweak, but it was never a question of, ‘Was he going to come out?’ or ‘Was he going to finish the game?’ Luke was going to continue to be Luke and push through whatever pain or injury he had. And that’s just one of the things that makes him so special.”

Luke Nickel joins Miami's quarterback room which includes redshirt sophomore Emory Williams and redshirt freshman Judd Anderson. His competitive spirit and versatility could give him an edge in the battle for the starting job in 2025.