Ole Miss Football: Rebels Land Top Transfer Walter Nolen From A&M
Ole Miss continues to rack up an elite transfer portal class as they landed a commitment from Texas A&M transfer Defensive Lineman Walter Nolen on Sunday afternoon.
The 6'4, 300 pound defensive tackle had 37 tackles, 8.5 TFL, and 4 sacks in 2023. In his Freshman season in 2022, Nolen had 29 tackles, 2.5 TFL, and 1 sack across 10 games. That gives him career totals of 66 tackles, 11 TFL, and 5 sacks across 22 career games.
Nolen is considered one of the top transfers in the portal, regardless of position. 247 ranks Nolen as the No. 1 overall player in the portal, while On3 ranks Nolen 2nd. Nolen chose Ole Miss over fellow finalist Oregon, but Georgia was also involved.
He is an immediate difference maker who can quickly improve Ole Miss' defense as a whole.
Texas A&M transfer, former five-star Walter Nolen commits to Ole Miss
Nolen came to Texas A&M as arguably the top player in their historic 2022 recruiting class. Nolen was a consensus five-star recruit in that class, and was a consensus top two player in the class as well. Every major recruiting service had Nolen ranked as either the No. 1 recruit in the class or as the No. 2 recruit right behind Travis Hunter.
As previously mentioned, Ole Miss is building a strong transfer portal class. They've already landed commitments from EDGE Princely Umanmielen (from Florida, No. 10 overall player/No. 1 EDGE according to 247), EDGE Tyler Baron (from Tennessee, No. 11 overall/No. 2 EDGE), WR Antwane "Juice" Wells (from South Carolina, No. 15 overall/No. 3 WR), CB Decamerion Richardson (from Mississippi State, No. 48 overall/No. 5 CB), and LB Chris Paul Jr. (from Arkansas, No. 55 overall/No. 3 LB).
Ole Miss also has commitments from S Tamarion McDonald (Tennessee), WR Devin Price (FAU), S Key Lawrence (Oklahoma), CB Tahveon Nicholson (Illinois), S Louis Moore (Indiana), and IOL Gerquan Scott (Southern Miss).
The addition of Nolen jumps Ole Miss up to No. 1 in the team transfer portal rankings. The Rebels seem to be in a battle with Colorado for the top spot in the rankings. Colorado was previously ranked 1st before Ole Miss jumped them today.
Nolen will have up to two years of eligibility remaining in Oxford, but will also be NFL draft eligible after the 2024 season. He is originally from Powell, Tenn., but also spent a year at IMG Academy in his Junior year of High School.