Inside Elite DL Walter Nolen's Top Five
The nation's top 2022 defender, Walter Nolen released his top five schools on Friday afternoon. Nolen cut his list from eight to five, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, while re-adding one team (Tennessee) and removing a few other teams from consideration.
The list cut comes after a visit-heavy month of June, which included stops at each contender. Following the release, his father, Walter Nolen Sr., discussed the elite prospect's list cut and future plans in-depth with SI All-American.
On Alabama: "Bama is Bama. All of that works speaks for itself."
On Georgia: "Coach Tray (Scott) is one of the best recruiters. Georgia has a good body of work, also. They haven't got over the hill yet, which I guess their Achilles heel is Alabama. But Georgia has a good program, and they have a good recruiting staff, too."
On Florida: "Florida has a good staff. Coach (David) Turner's a good coach. We enjoy talking with them. Dan Mullen is a good guy, and it feels like home down there as well. I think Dan Mullen is probably the biggest factor for Florida because, to be honest with you, I cannot remember who Florida's coach was before he got there."
On Michigan: "Some of the new staff they got in decided to migrate down south and recruit more players from down here. Michigan, even though they haven't beaten Ohio State, they have a good program, and they have good facilities. It does feel like home up there. Just they are up north, and we are down south."
On Tennessee rejoining the list: "I am probably going to say Coach G (Rodney Garner) and the recruiting staff. When they came in, from day one when they got there, they were like we have to have Walter. He is a top priority for us. Just looking at Coach G's body of work— 30 plus years—multiple kids go on to the NFL. He is really good at what he does, so that was a big plus for them."
With what could be his final list cut in place, everyone wants to know what is next for the elite prospect, especially if he will take a visit during the final week of the month when recruiting opens up for a few days.
"We haven't decided about the last week of July," Nolen Sr. said. "A couple of coaches have hinted about it, but nothing definite. It is possible we go somewhere, but we could end up not going anywhere. It just depends."
The elite prospect has flirted with the idea of making a decision sometime in August, and it appears that the timeline could remain intact.
"Knowing him, it is possible," his father said on the possibility. "He had originally said December, but I was like, 'Nah.' It will be done before then. It is quite possible."
Nolen has dominated throughout the 2021 offseason, including an 'unstoppable' run while competing among the nation's best at the Under Armour Future 50 camp in June.