Heading into the 2024 college football season, there were no questions about whether Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen was a gifted athlete. The question was whether he could maximize those physical attributes.
Fast forward to the end of the year, and Nolen finished as a consensus All-American and a first-team All-SEC defender. Needless to say, he put it all together in 2024. As he enters the draft as a potential first-rounder, he is making further waves with his old-school mindset.
Walter Nolen’s ‘Ain’t No Friends’ Mindset
We have seen NFL players like Jalen Hurts talk about going into kill mode when on the field, and Nolen is no different.
The Ole Miss star said he was known to be a “little teddy bear” off the field, but when the pads are on, there “ain’t no friends” of him on the field.
“It’s kind of like, a lot of people say I’m a little teddy bear off the field, but once I get on the field, you don’t really wanna be across from me. I feel like I give everybody a shot. I’m a nice guy, if I trust you, if I believe you, I’m gonna give you whatever you need. I’ll give you the shirt off my back if you need it. Then honestly, when I get on the field, I feel like it ain’t no friends,” he told SiriusXM NFL at the Scouting Combine.
Nolen’s mindset is sure to do him a lot of good in the NFL, irrespective of the team picking him. But for now, he’s headed 31st overall to the Kansas City Chiefs in PFSN’s latest mock draft from Joe DeLeone, who believes there’s no one better than Steve Spagnuolo to get the most out of the tackle.
“If there’s a defensive coordinator who can get the most out of Nolen in the NFL, it’s Steve Spagnuolo. Nolen has very inconsistent tape but jaw-dropping potential if surrounded by the right winning culture.”
Nolen was a five-star recruit in the 2022 cycle and an immediate contributor at Texas A&M. But his 6.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss All-American 2024 campaign is what made him a potential first-rounder.
Nolen has one of the most compelling power profiles in the 2025 NFL Draft at 6’3″, 293 pounds, with near-34-inch arms. His leverage and proportional length enable him to channel devastating force, but it’s his hyper-elite explosive capacity that sources his momentum.
In the past, Nolen operated more as a battering ram at 3-tech and 5-tech, but in 2024, his usage and his execution appeared more varied. There’s still room to keep growing, but his explosive element is a lot to handle in run defense, and his counter game is trending up.