Michigan Football: Tennessee projected to land 5-star DT Walter Nolen
Michigan football has been working hard to land the commitment of five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen in 2022 but experts are projecting him elsewhere.
If you are talking about Michigan football‘s top priorities in the 2022 recruiting class, five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen is right there at the top.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pounder who is ranked third overall in the 247 sports composite rankings for 2022 would be a program-changing addition for the Wolverines and after hosting him for an official visit, as well as a self-guided tour, U-M has been in a solid position.
Nolen recently cut his list down to a final five and the Wolverines made the cut along with Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. When the list was first released, Tennessee didn’t feel like a top contender but that’s suddenly changed.
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As EJ Holland of Rivals reported, Nolen is going to stay in Tennessee to play his last season of high school football and there’s talk that he will wind up at a program with ties to the Vols.
There was some hope that Nolen would play his final season in Detroit, which would have been huge for the Wolverines. He does have family ties there but that’s not going to happen and in response to this news, Holland and national Rivals’ analyst Mike Farrell have projected Nolen to land at Tennessee.
Farrell had a projection in for Florida following Nolen’s visit there and his talk of shutting down his recruitment shortly after. Yet, that hasn’t really happened. He took a visit to Alabama and the Tide felt like the favorite until this recent twist.
While Farrell changed his pick, Holland, who covers Michigan football recruiting, put his first projection in on Friday and that’s not good for the Wolverines.
Even though Michigan has been a viable contender in this recruitment, it always felt like Nolen was going to end up with an SEC school and that looks more likely now.
There is still a long way to go. Alabama, Florida, Georiga, and Michigan are all pushing hard but it feels like a long shot now for Michigan, especially with some key experts starting to weigh in.