All-state teams: Milton’s Luke Nickel named GHSF Daily/AJC player of the year
Milton quarterback Luke Nickel was so reliable and his team so good that his playoff performance came and went, much like his career, without its proper due.
His 20 touchdown passes are a state playoff record, by the way. And they came without an interception. And his farewell performance – 21-of-22 passing for 409 yards and four touchdowns in the Class 5A championship game – was the best effort in the career of one of the state’s all-time leading passers.
“He played as locked-in and laser-focused as I’ve ever seen him,” Milton coach Ben Reaves said. “Making sure this team repeated as state champions was very important to him, and he knows that any good offense runs through the quarterback. He took film study and practice reps with the same intensity he did game reps, and it all paid off.”
Nickel, the GHSF Daily/Atlanta Journal-Constitution all-classification player of the year, was 38-6 as Milton’s three-year starting quarterback. He won his final 25 starts and two state titles. He passed for 10,165 yards, 11th all-time in Georgia. His 107 TD passes rank 15th all-time.
This season, Nickel guided one of the great teams in state history. Milton (15-0) finished No. 2 in six national polls, and Nickel was among nine Milton seniors who signed with ACC or SEC programs. Nickel was 209-of-308 passing for 3,744 yards and 44 touchdowns. His yards per pass rose to 12.2 from 9.3 from a junior season in which he was the Class 7A offensive player of the year.
“His pocket presence, accuracy and composure was next level,” said Lee County coach Dean Fabrizio, whose team lost to Milton 56-28 in the semifinals. “One of the best quarterbacks I have faced in over 30 years of coaching. He was very impressive.”
Then came the championship game. The score was 35-35 in the second quarter, but Nickel kept throwing strikes, and Hughes could not keep pace.
“Luke is college-ready,” Hughes coach Daniel Williams said. “He made some major quick decisions in our game. Luke had full command of the high school game. He gets to his third read so fast.”
Said Reaves, “The way he’s wired mentally is what sets him apart. He processes defensive looks quickly, he doesn’t think or second-guess himself, and he’s wired to win no matter what obstacle stands in front of him.”
Nickel committed to Miami before his junior season and never wavered. He will join the team in January. Nickel also brings high character, Reaves assured.
“He never turned down an interview request, never said no to a fan wanting an autograph, never said no to a picture,” Reaves said. “He never missed a chance to go read to the elementary schools or speak to our youth and feeder teams when asked. He never cared about individual awards. At times I felt he was overlooked. He would tell me all he cares about is helping his team win.”