Michigan Football: Walter Nolen eliminates Wolverines

Michigan football fought the good fight in its recruitment of Walter Nolen but the Wolverines didn’t make his top three on Tuesday. 

At various times in his recruitment, Michigan football was at or near the top with five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

But as we move into the fall, the Wolverines have now been eliminated from the race, at least according to the new top three released by Walter Tuesday night.

According to what he told On3.com, Nolen is down to Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Georgia. The Aggies didn’t make Nolen’s original top five but he visited them late in July and they have made a notable move up his leaderboard.

It’s not stunning for Michigan football to be knocked off the list, except for the fact that Nolen just locked in some visits to Ann Arbor.

The No. 1 overall recruit according to the 247 sports composite rankings, Nolen has ties to the state of Michigan with family in the Detroit Area. However, NIL has played a big role and Michigan football is way behind some of the other contenders in that area.

Alabama and Florida were also eliminated from contention, but things have changed quickly in the past, so who knows if this list will be a permanent top three or if things will change as they did when Nolen released a top five without A&M, only to include them later.

Obviously, if Nolen doesn’t visit Ann Arbor for a game this fall, Michigan football won’t be considered a contender and it’s likely that the staff’s energy would be put to better use with other recruitments that are more winnable.

Where Michigan football turns on D-line

The Wolverines have lost momentum in this recruitment and other targets such as Kenneth Grant, Deone Walker, and Isaiah Hastings will take center stage.

Grant is a massive target and the Wolverines are making a strong push for him while Walker is also a 6-foot-6, 340-pound prospect from the state of Michigan.

Michigan leads with his crystal ball projections but Alabama offered recently, maybe because the Tide was losing ground with Nolen and now they are trying to land Walker late in the process.

We’ll see what happens down the road, but as far as Nolen is concerned, it feels like the dream is really dead.