Injury to Texas A&M DL Walter Nolen not believed to be as serious as initially thought

Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen suffered a brutal looking injury on Saturday against Tennessee, having to be carted off the field. However, On3‘s Matt Zenitz shared a positive update on the injury Monday, reporting that it isn’t believed to be as bad as it initially looked.

Nolen went down holding his right leg with six minutes remaining in the game and attempted to stand back up. However, he was unable to do so, immediately falling back to the ground. That’s when the cart came out to carry him off the field and back to the locker room.

It was an emotional sight, as Nolen, a native of Powell, Tennessee, was playing back in his home state for the first time in his college career. Now this injury update provides hope that he will be back sooner rather than later.

Nolen committed to Texas A&M in 2022 as a five-star recruit out of Powell (TN) High School. He was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

So far this season, Nolen was showing why he was such a highly rated prospect coming out of high school. He ranked second on the team in both sacks (four) and tackles for loss (7.5) in addition to 26 total tackles and a pass defended. The Aggies so far lead the SEC in both sacks (29) and rank second in total defense, and Nolen is a big reason why.

All four of Nolen’s sacks this season have come in SEC play, so he seems to be turning it up amid tougher competition. Coach Jimbo Fisher did not have an update on the defensive lineman when asked about the injury postgame.

Walter Nolen wasn’t the only Aggies player to go down with injury. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and defensive lineman Albert Regis both left the game in the first half and did not return. Similar to Nolen, Fisher did not have any significant update on their status going forward in the immediate moments after the game.

Texas A&M has a bye coming up this week, which should give Nolen and the others plenty of time to heal their injuries up. After that, the Aggies next face South Carolina at 11 a.m. CT on Oct. 28 in College Station.

Coming off of back-to-back losses, they’ll aim to get back in the win column.