Walter Nolen

Walter Nolen III (born October 14, 2003) is an American professional football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and Ole Miss Rebels, earning consensus All-American honors with the latter in 2024. Nolen was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.

Walter Nolen

No. 97 – Arizona Cardinals
Position:	Defensive Tackle
Personal information
Born:	(2003-10-14) October 14, 2003 (age 21) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school:	Powell (Powell, Tennessee)
College:	Texas A&M (2022–2023) Ole Miss (2024)
NFL draft:	2025: 1st round, 16th pick
Career history
Arizona Cardinals (2025–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Consensus All-American (2024) First-team All-SEC (2024)
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

Nolen played high school football at three different schools: Olive Branch High School in Olive Branch, Mississippi, as a freshman and sophomore; Saint Benedict at Auburndale in Memphis as a junior; and Powell High School in Powell, Tennessee, as a senior. He also enrolled for a time at IMG Academy but did not play there.^[1] His coach at Powell, Matt Lowe, described him as "a young man who has been blessed with size, speed and athleticism."^[2]

In his senior year at Powell, he had 93 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hurries, and 17 sacks.^[3] He was rated by ESPN as the No. 1 football recruit in the 2022 recruiting class.^[4] He was ranked No. 2 by Rivals.com and 247Sports, behind Travis Hunter.^[3][5]

After his senior year, he was invited to play in the Under Armour All-America Game.^[3] He was named USA Today High School Defensive Football Player of the Year and was rated as the country's top recruit of the 2022 class by the same publication.^[6]

College career

Nolen received offers from numerous schools and narrowed his final five to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Tennessee.^[1] In November 2021, Nolen committed to play college football for Texas A&M.^[7] He later paid an official visit to Tennessee, raising speculation that his commitment was uncertain. He then signed his letter of intent with Texas A&M in December 2021.^[8][9] He was part of a recruiting class at Texas A&M that was rated as the best in the history of recruiting rankings.^[10]

On December 24, 2023, Nolen announced he would transfer to Ole Miss.^[11] At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Nolen was named a consensus first team All-American.^[12]

College statistics

Season	GP	Tackles				Fumbles				Interceptions
		Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	FF	FR	Yds	TD	Int	Yds	TD	PD
Texas A&M Aggies
2022	10	29	17	12	1.0	1	1	9	0	0	0	0	0
2023	12	37	20	17	4.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Ole Miss Rebels
2024	13	48	25	23	6.5	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3
Career	35	114	62	52	11.5	1	3	9	0	0	0	0	3

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	20-yard shuttle	Bench press
6 ft 3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m)	296 lb (134 kg)	32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m)	9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m)	4.76 s	27 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14]

Nolen was drafted in the first round with the 16th overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2025 NFL draft.^[15]