Elite In-State DL Walter Nolen Releases Top Schools, Details New Relationship with Tennessee and More

Walter Nolen is one of the nation's premier prospects regardless of position. The six-foot-four, 300 pounds defensive line prospect from Cordova (Tenn.) holds over 25 Division 1 offers, and he hears from the who's who of the college football world. Nolen just cut his list of schools to ten, and before his public announcement, he broke down each school with VR2 on SI.

Nolen's finalists include Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, USC, and Tennessee.

Nolen was a top priority for Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley, as they extended him his first offer in 2019. New Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel wasted little time in prioritizing Nolen just the same, helping the Vols land on the nation's top defensive tackle's list.

"Not really much changed. You have to be prepared for the worst at any time. You never know when a program changes their whole coaching staff or even the head coach,"He said on starting fresh with Tennessee.

Nolen's new relationship with Heupel started off on the right foot. "It was great. It wasn't really that long, but me getting to talk to him for those first couple of 10-20 minutes was pretty great," he said of the initial conversation.

The change from a defensive-minded coach to an offensive-minded coach in Knoxville has not deterred Nolen's interest in Tennessee. "It feels pretty great knowing that he wants to go out and get some of the best defensive players he can to pick up the slack that some of the players might leave off," he said on the prospective of playing in a system like Heupel's. "Just being able to come on the field right after the offense scores a touchdown and getting them back on the field as quick as possible."

Nolen is going to take the process slow now that he has cut his list, with a decision likely to come after his senior season. " I am going to take my visits, and I am going to play my senior year before I make anymore cuts," he told VR2 on SI.

Nolen, an in-state prospect for the Vols now, was formerly in the Sunshine State at national powerhouse IMG Academy, before transferring to the Memphis area to play at St. Benedicts at Auburndale.

"I just learned to use every opportunity that you have. You never know when you could lose a game, or they could take a game away from you or end the season just like that," he said on his biggest takeaway from a tumultuous junior season. "I just learned how to make sure to take advantage of every opportunity I have."

Now with one last chance left ahead of him to play high school football, he said on his senior season goal, "basically, just improving myself and getting ready to go to the next level, and enjoying my senior season."

Below is what Nolen had to say on each of his other contenders:

On LSU: Just based off the relationship I have with Coach O as a person and knowing that if I go to that school, I am going to be able to be coached by the head coach even in my position. I will be able to have some one-on-one time to ask him questions about what I can do better, what I need to do to get better and stuff like that.

On Alabama: Really everything. I loved what little I got to see at the game when I went to watch them play LSU. I enjoy talking with the coaches and building a relationship over these last few months. It has been a great time with them.

On Clemson: Watching the freshmen they have on the D-Line (Myles Murphy and Bryan Breese) and seeing what they can do made me want to push myself harder. Just seeing that even no matter how deep the roster is, you can still have a chance to play at one of the top schools in the country.

On Ohio State: How they produce the top defensive lineman every year coming into the draft and being able to talk to coach Larry Johnson and getting to know him as a person. Every week I talk to him is building into the relationship even more, not just as a football player and coach. It is two people talking to each other.

On Michigan: It is basically the coaching staff and me being able to talk to coach Harbaugh a lot and getting to know him as a person and how he wants to run his program and be one of the national competitors coming into the next few years.

On Florida: I feel like, in their defense, I would be able to be myself, and I know I would have some strong backup coming behind me. They always have a good defense ready to go get it and an explosive offense ready to score most of the time.

On Oregon: It is basically how he (Coach Mario Cristobal) runs his time like an SEC school, even though they are not in the SEC, just how he brands his teams and works with his players. I feel like it is unlike any other conference.

On USC and the potential of teaming up with Korey Foreman: It is great. As a freshman, I was watching some of Korey's highlights, and it made me want to push myself harder in the weight room and even on the field. I feel like that would be a great duo on the field.

On Auburn: How they had Derrick Brown, just watching him was unlike any other thing I have seen.