Scoop: Why the Florida Gators Made 2022 DT Walter Nolen's Top 8

Florida finds itself in the top eight schools for elite 2022 defensive tackle prospect Walter Nolen. Find out why the Gators made the cut from Nolen himself.

Nolen spoke about his top schools with Matt Ray from our sister site Volunteer Country, and Sports Illustrated All-American.

Walter Nolen, considered the best defensive tackle and one of the top prospects in American in the recruiting class of 2022, is down to eight schools. Florida is one of them.

Honored to say tht I have cut my list down to 8 recruitment is still wide open @Rivals @ChadSimmons_ @ESPN3ALLDAY @HamiltonESPN pic.twitter.com/hhXdl3FhoY

— Walter Nolen9️⃣🏈🏈 (@WalterNolen4) April 2, 2021

Nolen named UF as one of his top eight on Thursday morning, along with Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and Southern California.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle from St. Benedict at Auburndale (Cordova, Tenn.) was originally offered by the Gators in March 2020, and has primarily been recruited to Florida by defensive line coach David Turner to this point.

Originally from the Memphis area, Nolen transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton (Fla.) in February 2020 but did not play a game for the Ascenders, instead transferring back to his hometown area to play for his latest high school.

Nolen believes his time at IMG was crucial in his recruitment to Florida given the short distance between the two schools, but UF and the top prospect have continued to stay in touch despite his move back home. He shared why Florida made his top eight and his current standing with the Gators with Matt Ray of Volunteer Country:

"When I was at IMG, I feel like that helped better our relationship and me being able to talk to them and them just being 2-3 hours away. It was just a good chance, so being a college town, they are one of the biggest college towns you can think of, so that helps them.

Eventually, when you get to college, you have to think about, you are going to share reps with the best because everybody is there for a reason, and you have to take that into consideration and get every opportunity you can. I feel like with Florida's offense getting off the field a lot it gives a chance for their defensive linemen to get more reps."

Nolen has locked in official visits to Florida (June 4-6) and Michigan (June 18-20) and is in the process of scheduling others. As things stand, he plans to make his college decision around New Year's Day or the Under Armour All-American game.

You can find Nolen's thoughts on his other top schools below.

Alabama: "I just feel like Coach [Freddie] Roach can help me get where I want to be, and just being able to play for the coaching staff they have is a pretty great opportunity. They have been saying, look at what they've done in the past and how Alabama defensive linemen are prospering in the NFL."

Georgia: "It is just like once I dropped my top 10, they picked it up a lot. They have picked up the speed, and now, I am talking to them every day, and just being able to get on zooms and get on the board with them has been pretty good and just showing me how they would use me on the defensive line and stuff. After the [Under Armour] camp, we drove to Athens and drove around the campus for a bit. It was pretty good, even though I couldn't get in contact with coaches and stuff. It was still good to be able to ride around campus and see it."

LSU: "It is just the relationship I have been building with Coach [Orgeron], and I have been steadily building on it. It is just one of my better ones. They have been just saying other schools want you, but we need you and stuff like that."

Michigan: "Just talking with Kody [Jones] that has been my childhood friend. We have been playing football together forever, and being able to take that to college would be great. Talking with Coach [Mike] Macdonald and Coach [Ronald] Bellamy and all of them and just being able to talk to them about using me as a defensive lineman and defensive end. I feel like that is a defensive front I would want to be in. They have told me they would use me all across it."

Ohio State: "Just talking to Coach [Ryan] Day and Coach [Larry] Johnson, it has been one of my better ones. Just watching some of the guys in my class commit, I feel like it would be one of the best opportunities for me to team up with some of the people I would like to play with."

Oregon: "They are just saying I have a big body frame, and with my athleticism, I will be able to play on the inside and the outside. They are saying with their linebackers behind me it will free up the opportunity for me to take the one-on-ones. That is what I like."

USC: "When you talk about building your brand, I mean that is probably one of the biggest cities you can go to with the name, image, and likeness stuff coming up. Just being able to play for Coach [Vic] So'tto and them is a great opportunity, not just as a football player but as a business person."