Ducks Digest

Walter Nolen, No. 1 Player in Transfer Portal, Narrows List to Two Schools

Oregon recently hosted Nolen for a visit in Eugene as Dan Lanning looks to reload along the defensive line for 2024.

Max Torres

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One of the most coveted players in the transfer portal has trimmed his list of suitors to just two schools.

On Tuesday, Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen announced a final two of the Oregon Ducks and the Ole Miss Rebels.

The 6-foot-4, 290-pound defensive lineman was recently in Eugene for an Oregon visit as Dan Lanning made his case with the former five-star recruit. 

Lanning recruited Nolen when he was on the Georgia staff and the star defensive lineman was one of the top recruits in the 2022 class. He eventually committed to Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies from a final group that also included the Georgia Bulldogs and the Tennessee Volunteers. 

Nolen played his high school football at Powell (Tenn.) High School and was ranked a five-star (0.9997) recruit according to the 247Sports Composite. The same system ranked him the No. 2 player nationally, the No. 1 defensive lineman and the No. 1 recruit in Tennesse.

After spending two seasons in College Station, he quickly vaulted to the top spot in the transfer portal rankings for both 247Sports and On3. 

The star lineman has taken two trips to Oregon and Ole Miss, but Lane Kiffin and the Rebels appear to have the momentum on the surface in this recruitment. They've received recent predictions for Nolen after landing commitments from highly-touted transfers including Mississippi State cornerback Decamerion Richardson, South Carolina wide receiver Antwane 'Juice' Wells and Tennessee EDGE Tyler Barron.

But don't expect Dan Lanning and the Ducks to go down without a fight. They've started their run in the transfer portal, landing two of the top available quarterbacks in Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel and UCLA's Dante Moore.

While Nolen doesn't have a hard-set commitment date, the news of a top two suggests a decision likely isn't far off. Oregon is set to lose a lot of their veteran production along the defensive line following this season, so it's no surprise that they've prioritized Nolen as well as Michigan State transfer Derrick Harmon, who was in Eugene for a visit this past weekend.

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Max Torres
MAX TORRES

Max Torres is the publisher and lead editor of Ducks Digest. He's covered the Oregon football and recruiting beats for four years. He's based out of Long Beach, CA and travels around Southern California and the country covering top high school football prospects.

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