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Elite 2022 Defensive Tackle Walter Nolen Drops Top 5 List, Includes Gators

The Florida Gators are going to be all in on 2022 defensive lineman Walter Nolen out of Cordova (TN), and he has officially included him in his top-5 programs list.

Walter Nolen, one of the best defensive tackles part of the 2022 recruiting class, has officially released the top 5 teams he will be choosing from when deciding a destination for his collegiate career.

Among the teams includes the Florida Gators, and the program has made quite the push to land the disruptive defensive lineman. If Florida should come out as his program of choice, it will bode well for the Florida defense for potentially years to come as they look to rebuild its defensive line.

Along with the Gators, Nolen includes Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan and Alabama. Florida will be competing with three SEC teams in the Bulldogs, Volunteers and Crimson Tide as he contemplates which program he would best fit at for his future.

For now, it appears that Michigan and Alabama are the two programs Florida will need to keep a close eye on as far as competition for his services will go.

Nolen, 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, is regarded as the No. 3 overall player nationally and the top-ranked defensive lineman in the country. His standout performances throughout his high school career thus far speak for themselves, and he has quickly risen up the charts as one of the best players to ever lace them up in Tennessee.

Related: Key Gators 2022 Targets That Stood Out at Future 50

For Florida, Nolen has been a player on its radar for quite some time. The program originally offered the big man in March of last year, and recently visited with Nolen on June 4., earlier this year. Since his visit to Gainesville, Nolen has traveled to Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee and Alabama.

Nolen would visit with Florida a second time on June 11 for an unofficial meeting, showing just how much the Gators would like to get him in as a signee come National Signing Day later this year.

Florida was originally one of the eight programs Nolen included in his top-teams list in April. The rest of the list included LSU, Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Oregon, Ohio State and USC.

Florida has always been in the business of recruiting the top defensive linemen, and this year is no different. In 2020, the program was able to bring in standout defensive tackle Gervon Dexter. If Nolen were to join the program, the two would be a force in the middle of its defensive for at least one season as Dexter enters his junior year in 2022. 

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