Ole Miss received historic news on Christmas Eve when former Texas A&M defensive tackle Walter Nolen revealed his decision to transfer to Oxford.
Nolen had 66 tackles (37 solo), one forced fumble, and five sacks during his two seasons at College Station. However, his impact in the trenches extends far beyond the stat sheet. As a transfer (at the time of commitment), 247Sports ranked the 6-foot-4, 290-pound defensive lineman as the top player at his position and the top overall transfer prospect.
ESPN recently put out its 2025 first round NFL Draft projection, and it has Nolen as the only Rebel selected on Day 1. The mock draft has Nolen being selected with the final pick of the first round (No. 32 overall) to who they believe will win the Super Bowl this year — the San Francisco 49ers. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Nolen being in first round chatter, and it certainly won’t be the last of it.
At the time of the writing. Nolen has top-10 probabilities of being selected with the first overall choice. The next Rebel to be taken in the first round of an NFL Draft, regardless of position one through 32, will be the first since the New York Giants took Evan Engram with the 23rd overall choice in 2017.
How was Ole Miss able to outbid other elite universities for Nolen’s services in what is expected to be the veteran’s final college football season?
“My favorite thing about Ole Miss is really just the at-home culture,” Nolen previously told 247Sports . “I just felt more love at Ole Miss. I could tell in the locker room it was sincere. I don’t think I have (any) relationship with (any) other players like that except with a couple guys on my last team at Texas A&M.I feel they can get me where I need to be in the next year.Also I get a chance to go back home and give back to the community (Nolen is passionate about donating his time to the nearby city of Memphis).”
