Nick Nordella appears in both episode 6x07, The Great Red Dragon and 6x08, Red John, as shown on the IMDB website. His appearance in these two episodes has led many people (including myself) to believe that he plays the young Red John from the Visualize owned 'Elliston Farm' in 1998.
The two actors from the list of seven (five remaining) suspects who Nordella resembles the most closely are Sheriff Thomas McAllister and Raymond Haffner. I have no doubt that Haffner is a very strong suspect but i believe that McAllister is Red John.
This is due to his age. The actor who plays McAllister (Xander Berkeley) was born in 1955. This makes him 58 currently. Therefore, he was 33 when Red John killed the Visualize members in the barn (as shown on Season 5 Episode 13- The Red Barn). The priest in this episode (Kyle Secor) told Jane that Martin Talbot told him ‘some kid’ drew the face. At the age of 33 at this point, Berkley would be unlikely to be referred to as a 'kid' by anyone. However, the age of Berkley's character (Thomas Mcallister) on the show is 50. This means that in 1988, he was 25. This makes him much more likely to fit Talbot's description of a kid.
Returning to the point of Nick Nordella, he is currently aged 25. The character of Thomas McAllister was 25 in 1988 because the writers changed Berkley's age. Coincidence? I think not. Nordella resembles a young McAllister. And they have changed Berkley's age to make McAllister and Nordella the same age at this point. Why do this? Because Thomas McAllister is Red John
