In Milton’s 37-28 victory over Plantation American Heritage on Friday night, quarterback Luke Nickel delivered several standout plays, but the one that excited him the most wasn’t a pass he threw—it was one he caught.
Late in the second quarter, with Milton facing a critical third-and-10 from midfield, Nickel handed the ball off to receiver Ethan Barbour and then sprinted down the left sideline. Barbour launched a pass to Nickel, who secured it for a 26-yard gain, setting up a fresh set of downs. Four plays later, Milton found the end zone, taking a 20-16 lead with just 29 seconds left in the first half—a lead they would not relinquish.
“I knew it was going to work,” Nickel said, referring to the trick play. “Just went out there and used my receiver skills.”
When asked about the name of the play, Nickel revealed it’s called “The U.”
Why?
“Because I’m going to the U,” the quarterback said, referring to his commitment to the Miami Hurricanes.
Nickel, a four-star recruit ranked as the No. 20 quarterback in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports, has been committed to Miami for over a year. Friday marked his second high school game in South Florida, part of the Broward County High School National Football Showcase.
Against American Heritage, Nickel completed 17 of 25 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to making that crucial 26-yard reception. He sealed the game late in the fourth quarter with a 72-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Barbour. Even after injuring his thumb on his throwing hand during the trick play, Nickel remained calm and focused.
“If he wasn’t our starting quarterback, he’d be our starting [middle] linebacker. I mean, he is just that tough,” said Milton coach Ben Reaves. “He’s that blue collar. He had a 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.”
Despite the pain, Nickel shrugged it off after the game, acknowledging the adrenaline that helped him push through. “I’m going to do anything for my teammates and really just leave it out there on the field,” Nickel said. “That’s my mentality.”
Last season, Nickel led Milton to a Class 7A state championship, Georgia’s highest classification, completing 66.1 percent of his passes for 3,914 yards and 39 touchdowns against just five interceptions. This year, Milton is already off to a 2-0 start, ranked as the top team in Georgia and No. 6 in the nation by MaxPreps.
“We’ve put so much on him this year,” Reaves said. “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. The way he’s throwing the ball right now—his timing and his feet have just improved so much. His confidence is there. He’s clicking on all cylinders right now.”
Nickel’s relationship with the Hurricanes remains “super strong,” just as it has been since his commitment on August 11, 2023. And what can Miami expect from Nickel?
“A winner,” Reaves said. “Not just a good quarterback—there’s a lot of good quarterbacks out there. He’s a winner, and you want winners on your team. You want guys that know how to go out and score more than the other team. They’re going to do whatever it takes to win, and that’s what you’re getting with him.”
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