Walter Nolen excited to enroll at Texas A&M, sets lofty goals
There’s a lot of excitement in College Station surrounding Texas A&M’s top-ranked 2022 signing class, which finished not only as the top recruiting class in the country, but the top recruiting class of all-time per the On3 Consensus. Early enrollees like wide receiver Evan Stewart, defensive backs Denver Harris, Bryce Anderson and quarterback Conner Weigman have generated positive buzz since arriving, but over half the class, including the Aggies’ top signee, Powell (Tenn.) High Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman Walter Nolen, who ranks as the No. 2 prospect and No. 1 defensive lineman in the 2022 class, won’t enroll until the summer.
Biding his time until enrollment, Nolen’s hard at work trying to keep up with his future teammates in College Station from afar.
“Really just trying to get faster, get more lean,” he said on what he’s working on this offseason. “Trying to keep up, even though I’m not there, trying to keep up with some of my teammates.”
The senior has lost some weight this offseason, stating that he weighs around 307 pounds right now, but looks to get back up to the 315-320 range when he enrolls.
Nolen has some major goals for his first few months on campus, looking to establish himself in the defensive line rotation as early as possible.
“Really just come out and prove that I can be a starter and be a big impact,” he said.
On top of his goals set for his first year on campus, Nolen has some major goals set for his Texas A&M career as a whole
“Of course we’re bringing at least one natty [national championship] back to the crib, at least,” he said. “Personal goals, I want to bring back as much hardware as I can. Every game I come out there I got something to prove all over again, we’re going to be fun.”
He’s been working on strengthening his relationship with the Texas A&M staff, with an emphasis on his relationship with defensive line coach Elijah Robinson and new defensive coordinator D.J Durkin.
“It ain’t did nothing but grow,” he said of his relationship with the staff since committing. “Just trying to build chemistry because everybody’s got to be on the same page to get what we want.”
The No. 1 defensive lineman in the country was back in College Station for the spring game, hanging out with fellow enrollees and getting to work as a peer recruiter for key 2023 targets. He also had an eye on Durkin’s scheme and liked what he saw.
“It was like I expected,” he said. “I expect they’re going to come out and put pressure on the quarterback like they did in the spring game.”
He added that the ability to send pressure from multiple positions, whether it was from the linebacker, defensive back, edge rusher or interior defensive lineman stood out to him as well.
Though he won’t officially enroll till the summer, Nolen has been a consistent presence in College Station since committing. The senior spent multiple weekends in Aggieland in March, most recently stopping through this past weekend.
For Nolen, who stated that a key reason he was sold on Texas A&M was his communication and relationship with other commits, he’s looking to be the reason others follow him to College Station. The five-star is working hard as a peer recruiter, naming Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson five-star defensive back Tony Mitchell and DeSoto (Tex.) High four-star wide receiver Johntay Cook II as two prospects he’s working on helping the Aggies land in the 2023 cycle.
“They know what’s up,” he said with a smile. “They know what the word is.”