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Tennessee football: Five names to watch in 2022 Early Signing Period

By Caleb Calhoun

Walter Nolen listens to instruction from a coach Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, during a practice at St. Benedict at Auburndale High School in Cordova.091520 Walternolen 04 Msg
Walter Nolen listens to instruction from a coach Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, during a practice at St. Benedict at Auburndale High School in Cordova.091520 Walternolen 04 Msg /
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St. Benedict at Auburndale junior Walter Nolen, 16, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, at the school in Cordova.091520 Walternolen 07 Msg
St. Benedict at Auburndale junior Walter Nolen, 16, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, at the school in Cordova.091520 Walternolen 07 Msg /

1. Walter Nolen

Defensive lineman; Powell, Tenn.

Okay, there are lots of candidates for Tennessee football to flip. Defensive tackle Tyre West and wide receiver C.J. Smith are committed to the Georgia Bulldogs, linebacker DeMario Tolan is committed to the LSU Tigers and defensive end Darren Agu is committed to the Vanderbilt Commodores. All of those players could change their minds.

However, none seem more likely to do that than Walter Nolen. It was a shock in November when Nolen, a five-star defensive tackle across the board, committed to the Texas A&M Aggies over the Vols. After all, he moved to Knox County at the start of the year to play at Powell High School.

Ever since then, there has been conventional wisdom that he will flip. Reports are conflicting, though. Emily Adams of the Knoxville News Sentinel reported on Monday Nolen’s father saying he won’t sign this week, but on the same day, Brian Perroni of 247Sports reported the family saying that he was going to sign Wednesday.

Next. Five Music City Bowl storylines. dark

Either way, Tennessee football is still in play. Standing between 6’4″ and 6’5″ and weighing in the range of 300 to 325 pounds, Nolen would be the star of the class if the Vols landed him. There’s no way of knowing exactly what he’ll do yet, but he’s clearly the most important player to keep an eye on relative to Rocky Top.

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