5-star defensive lineman Walter Nolen visited by Florida
Powell (Tenn.) High defensive lineman Walter Nolen is the top uncommitted player at his position in the 2022 class, and a handful of programs are putting the full-court press on him. Include Florida to that list, as the Gators sent defensive line coach David Turner to see the No. 6 player in the 2022 On300 rankings Thursday night.
Following the commitments of Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (Oklahoma) and Bear Alexander (Georgia), as well as five-star Mykel Williams flipping from USC to Georgia, Nolen is one of the biggest — literally and figuratively — prizes left on the board.
In August, the 6-foot-4, 325-pound Nolen narrowed his list down to three schools: Texas A&M, Tennessee and Georgia. A week later, however, he took an unofficial visit to Michigan. And a week after that, he was on campus at Florida. The Gators, who were thought to be major contenders for him before he narrowed his list, made an impression on the visit, though.
“Florida is on the path to get a championship in the next couple years and I can see my self there,” he tweeted.
Texas A&M is leading for Walter Nolen
With Georgia getting commitments from Alexander and Williams, it’s likely the Bulldogs are on the outside looking in with Nolen. The program thought to be leading for him, according to On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons, is Texas A&M.
“Based on the info I’m getting right now, the Aggies are likely the school everyone else is chasing,” Simmons said.
Nolen visited College Station over the summer and was back in town two weeks ago for the Aggies’ shocking upset over then-No. 1 Alabama. And he’s expected to be back again this weekend when the Aggies host South Carolina.
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His father, also named Walter, said they were very impressed by the visit and the atmosphere at Kyle Field.
“The environment here and atmosphere even before the win was spectacular,” the elder Nolen said. “I’m sure it helped their recruitment of him.”
Visits to Tennessee, Alabama still expected
A week after tripping to A&M, Nolen and his family made the short drive from their home just outside Knoxville to see Tennessee. Vols fans were out in full force, and the local school is expected to host Nolen for an official visit Nov. 13. The week before, he plans to be at Alabama.
According to Simmons, the Vols and Crimson Tide are the two other schools mainly in contention for Nolen at this point, though Florida can’t be counted out.