Dadi Nicolas

Nicolas was born on September 29, 1992 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti to mother Esperanta Estime. He grew up in Florida and did not begin playing football until his senior year, instead lettering in basketball.[2] During that year he played for Head Coach Chris Bean at Atlantic High School and had 70 tackles, 11 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two pass break-ups. He was named to the Honorable mention all-area selection by The Palm Beach Post.[3] He was not highly recruited coming out of high school and enrolled at Virginia Tech on July 6, 2011.[4]

Nicolas began his career with the Virginia Tech Hokies by receiving a redshirt designation while training at the defensive end position.[3] He had a 38-inch vertical jump and ran a 4.63 40 yard dash time. During the annual spring scrimmage, he had four tackles with three for a loss.[3] During May of that year Nicolas was arrested in relation to a bike stolen from the campus dining hall and charged with felony second-degree grand larceny and was indefinitely suspended from the team.[5] He was reinstated to the team on August 30 of that year after the charges were reduced to misdemeanor petty larceny, to which Nicolas plead not guilty.[6] He began his first year of eligibility by receiving the Richard Bullock award for most improved player on the defense in spring practice.[3] During a conference game against the Duke Blue Devils, he had one sack and a forced fumble.[3] Overall, he played in 10 games, 123 snaps on defense and nine on special teams and recorded 17 tackles, 3.5 for a loss, and 2 sacks. He also had one forced fumble and one recovery.[3]

In his sophomore year with the Hokies, Nicolas played in all 13 games that year and started in one of them.[3] During spring training, he broke the program's positional record with a 41-inch vertical.[3] He was awarded the Coaches Award on the defense.[3] He started out the season with a sack in the opener against the Alabama Crimson Tide.[3] During a game later that year in a game against Pittsburgh he had a career-high three sacks.[3] Additionally, he had an interception against Duke. He finished off the year playing 377 snaps, 313 on defense, one on offense, and 63 on special teams. He had four sacks, 32 tackles, seven tackles for lass, and 13 quarterback hurries. He was named as an honorable mention All-American by College Football News.[3]

Beginning his junior year, Nicolas was awarded the President's award for most outstanding leadership in spring practice.[3] He started all 13 games that year. During the second game of the year, he had two sacks against Ohio State and was named the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his efforts.[3] During a game against Pittsburgh, he blocked a field goal.[3] During the game against Duke, he had two and a half sacks and five hurries and was again named the ACC Defensive Lineman of the week. His efforts earned him a second-team All-ACC selection.[7]

In his final year with Virginia Tech, Nicolas spent the majority of it rehabilitating a hand that was broken during spring training, an injury that he played with in the regular season.[8] In addition, he had jammed fingers in his left hand. His condition lead to him being called "Lobster Boy" by Line Coach Charles Wiley.[8] Later on in the season, he was suspended for half of the annual rivalry game against the University of Virginia. This suspension stemmed from an incident in which Nicolas made contact with referee Ron Cherry following a penalty being declared on him.[9] Nicolas claimed in the press conference after that it was not intentional.[9] He finished the season with 45 tackles with seven for loss and 2.5 sacks.[3] He was named to the 2015 All-ACC Third Team by the Conference Coaches.[3]

Nicolas was projected by NFL.com and CBS Sports as a mid to late round pick.[1] Lance Zierlein of NFL.com commented that he had quick pass rush moves that can catch slower players off guard. He also complimented his athletic ability and burst to make up ground when chasing ball carriers. However, he was concerned by his lack of strength and size, noting he would probably not continue on the defensive line in the NFL.[1] He also noted he tended to avoid contact, and that he had poor instincts covering the run.[1] Dane Brugler and Rob Rang of CBS Sports also commented on his athleticism and speed, and also commented he was a good special teams player. However, they also noted he did not have the strength and did not believe him to be a point of attack player. They projected him to be an outside linebacker in a 4–3 scheme as opposed to a defensive end.[10]

• Virginia Tech Hokies bio