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Michigan State Football: Montae Nicholson signs 4-year deal with Redskins

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 12, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans safety Montae Nicholson (9) gestures to the crowd during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans safety Montae Nicholson (9) gestures to the crowd during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Michigan State football star Montae Nicholson has officially signed a four-year deal with the Washington Redskins.

When Montae Nicholson decided to leave Michigan State following his junior season and enter the 2017 NFL Draft, it was a surprise. Not many were sure that he was ready to make the leap, but the Washington Redskins were ready to make a high-risk, high-reward pick.

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Nicholson was selected No. 123 overall in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Redskins and it may have been his strong combine performance that boosted his stock. In all honesty, despite showing promise and having mass amounts of potential, I didn’t see Nicholson going before the fifth round.

Clearly, I was wrong.

On Thursday, Stephen Czarda of Redskins.com reported that Washington had signed nine of 10 drafted rookies. Nicholson was one of those rookies and he inked a four-year deal with Washington that is reportedly worth $3.02 million with over $600,000 guaranteed.

The Spartans were pleasantly surprised with his progression from sophomore to junior year and he became a much more well-rounded safety. Still, he has plenty of room to grow and work on his coverage.

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At the NFL combine, he opened some eyes with a 4.42 40-yard dash. Scouts knew he was fast, but that kind of speed can make a difference at the NFL level. He could start his career as a special teams player, but he has time to fix the kinks in his game.

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