Coach | 2022 TE Jack Nickel Complete Player, Complete Person
Jack Nickel caught Gary Lickovitch’s eye as a third-grader, but it was a play the 2022 Georgia tight end made as a seventh-grader that really made an imprint on Lickovitch.
Lickovitch, who played tight end at Ohio State from 1986-90, was coaching tight ends for the Blessed Trinity junior team in a game against Marist’s junior squad when Nickel hauled in a 50-plus yard pass.
“He had three guys on him and he jumped up and one-handed it,” Lickovitch recalls. “He probably got off the ground about two and a half feet and pulled it in with one hand and three guys on him.”
Lickovitch says even the opponents were in awe.
“Then, you were like, ‘This guy. This is not even fair,’” Lickovitch says.
Nickel has since emerged as one of the top targets in the Class of 2022 with scholarship offers from schools like Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Florida State, Nebraska and Virginia Tech among several others.
Lickovitch’s own son and Nickel started playing sports together when they were young.
“Jack was one of those kids who was just ahead of the game,” he remembers. “He was bigger, stronger and faster and had the mentality of football that was just a layer above any kid.”
Nickel’s father, Paul, was aware of Lickovitch’s experience playing the position at a high level and encouraged him to pass on any advice he could to his son. Lickovitch pointed to former Ohio State star defensive linemen Nick and Joey Bosa as examples for the importance of foot and hand speed.
“That’s what made those guys be elite athletes and their work ethic is just ridiculous,” Lickovitch says, noting that Nickel has embraced all advice and put in the work.
“Jack has a JD Bertrand-work ethic mentality.”
Lickovitch lives in the same neighborhood as Bertrand and knows the current Irish linebacker very well.
“JD Betrand is the poster child of work ethic, commitment and loyalty,” he says. “You’ll never talk to a more quality young man today. It’s truly what his DNA is. It’s unbelievable. It’s actually really refreshing.
“Jack Nickel has a lot of those similar qualities.
Lickovitch notes that it’s obvious when you meet a well-raised young man or woman by how they look you in the eye and shake your hand.
“He has those qualities,” he says. “That’s rare. (Some kids) have a tendency to not want to engage, they disengage, where Jack will engage you.
“Academically, Jack does very well and is committed to that as well. It’s the foundation that was built in his house with his father and mother. The family has a lot of Midwestern values, a little bit old school on that, but that’s what you see with Jack.”
On the field, Lickovitch says Nickel is the complete package.
“I know there are some really good tight ends who are really good receivers, but their blocking is not as strong,” he says. “Jack’s blocking is significant, especially when he’s in motion or coming off the line and going downfield.
“He can split wide and go out and make the play and break tackles and get to the end zone. I don’t see too many tight ends who do both like Jack Nickel blocking and receiving.”
Milton won a state title Nickel’s freshman year and went 8-4 this past season against some of the best competition in Georgia.
“His best games were against the top teams,” says Lickovitch, who believes much of the team’s success can be attributed to what Nickel has done as a blocker.
“For a sophomore to do that in Georgia football is significant. It’s big.”
Lickovitch is expecting bigger things from the 6-foot-4, 227-pounder in his final two seasons at Milton High School, saying Nickel is “not at full capacity yet.”
“The growth from his sophomore year to now, just his physical size and his temperament, you can see in his eyes that he’s going to be in a different gear and different lane this year,” he says. “I think his junior and senior years are going to be off the charts.”
Notre Dame is definitely one of the top schools for Nickel and Lickovitch believes it would be a tremendous fit for both sides.
“I think Jack Nickel would be given the opportunity to play for one of the most prestigious college football programs in the country,” he says. “I think he’s an absolutely perfect fit for Notre Dame just like JD Bertrand. I think it’d be a win-win. I think Notre Dame would be getting a high-quality leader and an outstanding student-athlete and that’s what Notre Dame builds its foundation on.
“For Jack, he’d have an opportunity to help an historical football program get back to where they’re trying to get to.”