Michigan Football: Wolverines aren’t in Walter Nolen’s new top 3

Things with five-star DT Walter Nolen have been trending in the wrong direction and Michigan football got more bad news on Saturday.

At various points in this recruiting cycle, Michigan football seemed to be in a solid position with five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

But on Saturday, Nolen talked about his new top three teams, and right now they are Texas A&M, Florida, and Tennessee. That’s not good for the Wolverines and it’s looking like even more of a longshot at this point for Walter to wind up in Ann Arbor.

Texas A&M started to gain momentum with Nolen in the past couple of weeks. The Aggies hosted him for an unofficial visit during the same weekend as the Big House BBQ and that clearly made an impact on his recruitment.

The Aggies who weren’t in the top five have now surged past not just Michigan, but also Alabama and Georgia too as those programs were also on the outside of Nolen’s top three.

Michigan should focus on other DT targets

As we have seen, different teams are capable of making a move in this recruitment, but at this point, it would probably be wise for the Wolverines to focus their energy on other targets.

One of those is three-star defensive tackle Kenneth Grant out of Indiana. Grant is strongly considering Michigan, Ohio State, and also Wisconsin. He has visited all three programs over the summer and Ohio State’s offer looms large in the process.

As always with Ohio State, it comes down to whether Grant would be a take. While he is down their board a little, EJ Holland of Rivals says he would be a take for Ohio State. However, Michigan is pushing harder right now and has been in this recruitment longer.

Either way, Grant who is listed by 247 sports as a 6-foot-4, 335-pound prospect would be a nice addition to the class along with in-state defensive tackle Deone Walker, who is listed at 6-foot-6, 340 pounds and is a four-star recruit.

Michigan leads in crystal ball predictions for Walker right now, but Alabama just offered last weekend and it could have something to do with Nolen moving Bama down his list.

Grant and Walker are the top targets and the top board and at this point, it’s essential for the Wolverines to land both in the 2022 recruiting class.