After spending his freshman year as the third-string quarterback for Oklahoma, Nichol will transfer to MSU, he told The State News on Tuesday.

“MSU has always been my home,” Nichol said. “I’ve been an MSU fan my whole life, and it came down to being close to home and playing for coach (Mark) Dantonio.”

Nichol verbally committed to MSU when he was in high school, but when former head coach John L. Smith was fired, he decided to pursue other schools.

Nichol wanted to play for Smith’s spread offense. When Dantonio was hired to implement his pro-style offense, Nichol retracted his commitment.

Nichol signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma, but saw little action behind star freshman quarterback Sam Bradford, who led the nation in pass efficiency last season.

“Me and Sam were neck-to-neck until the last few days of training camp,” Nichol said. “I didn’t feel like I did anything wrong there, he was just really good.”

Scout.com ranked Nichol as a four-star recruit and the 22nd best quarterback in the class of 2007. The site touted the 6-foot-2, 204-pound prospect as a good scrambler with great field vision who lacks elite arm strength.

In compliance with NCAA transfer rules, Nichol will have to sit out the entire 2008 season. When he returns, he’ll compete with current sophomores Nick Foles and Kirk Cousins, as well as 2009 verbal commitment Andrew Maxwell.

Nichol said he’s excited to become a part of the MSU tradition.

“I’m just excited about playing in front of the home crowd every week and being part of the Big Ten,” he said.

“I’m really excited for the whole experience.”