Montae Nicholson

Montae Nicholson (born December 4, 1995) is an American football free safety for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State, and was drafted by the Redskins in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

High school career
Nicholson attended Gateway High School in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, where he starred in football, basketball and track and field. His senior year, Nicholson won PIAA gold medals in the 110 hurdles and 400-meter relay along with the state's 60-meter indoor hurdles title. He was named the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Male Athlete of the Year.

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Nicholson was ranked as the No. 13 safety prospect in the class of 2014. He chose Michigan State over offers from Florida State, Oregon, Pittsburgh, and Virginia Tech.

College career
Nicholson attended Michigan State University.

Professional career
The Washington Redskins selected Nicholson in the fourth round (123rd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the 15th safety selected in 2017.

On May 11, 2017, the Washington Redskins signed Nicholson to a four-year, $3.01 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $618,892.

Throughout training camp, he competed for the job as a backup safety against Will Blackmon, Deshazor Everett, Earl Wolff, Josh Evans, Stefan McClure, and Fish Smithson. Head coach Jay Gruden named him the backup strong safety, behind Deshazor Everett, to begin the regular season after the original starting strong safety, Su'a Cravens, announced his decision to retire a week before their season-opener.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Washington Redskins' season-opening 30–17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. On September 17, 2017, Nicholson earned his first career start and made two solo tackles in the Redskins' 27–20 victory at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2. Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky opted to use Nicholson in nickel packages and Everett in base formations. In Week 3, Nicholson recorded a solo tackle, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception off a pass by Derek Carr during a 27–10 victory against the Oakland Raiders. On October 15, 2017, he recorded a season-high six combined tackles and broke up a pass, but left in the second quarter of the Redskins' 26–24 win against the San Francisco 49er after sustaining a concussion. His concussion occurred in the last 45 seconds of the half after Nicholson attempted to tackle wide receiver Pierre Garcon, but lowered shoulder and took a blow directly to his head that knocked off his helmet and rendered him unconscious. His concussion sidelined him for the next two games (Weeks 9–10). On November 18, 2017, he made four solo tackles before leaving in the third quarter of the Redskins' 20–10 victory against the New York Giants after receiving another concussion. On December 19, 2017, the Washington Redskins placed Nicholson on injured reserve for the last six games of the regular season. He finished his rookie season with 24 combined tackles (18 solo), two pass deflections, and an interception in eight games and six starts.

Nicholson entered the 2018 season as the Redskins starting free safety alongside strong safety D. J. Swearinger. He started the first seven games before losing the starting job in Week 9 after the Redskins traded for Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix. He was placed on the reserve/NFI list on December 19, 2018 following an assault and battery arrest.

Personal life
On December 18, 2018, Nicholson was arrested and charged with public swearing, intoxication, and misdemeanor assault in Ashburn, Virginia. The charges were dropped in May 2019.