Prospect Profile: Walter Nolen, DL, Ole Miss

Evaluation

Get Off

He has frightening get-off for his size and the position. He explodes out of his stance, normally a 4-point stance, and is upfield in a hurry. Compared to the rest of the line, he is consistently upfield quicker and further than his teammates. He gains ground at an exceptional rate and is quickness off the ball sets up the rest of his game both when rushing the passer and defending the run. He does this no matter the down, distance or game situation.

Rushing the Passer

He is a very good pass rusher, starting with his explosion off the ball, as already mentioned, that puts the Offensive Lineman in real trouble immediately. He has an effective plan that he can put to work against all types of opponent. The basis of his plan is his lateral quickness and explosion; he uses his footwork to keep the Offensive Lineman off-balance and guessing what move is likely to come from him. He has a number of moves that he can deploy to get to the back shoulder of the OL. It starts with his club rip, which is fast, violent and accurate. He has a wicked inside move where he uses his feet to cross the opponent’s face with ease, sometimes looking like he is teleporting from one side of the lineman to the other. His bull rush is dangerous because of his excellent hand usage and the power that he plays with, he will walk Offensive Linemen back into the QB and will be constantly looking to disengage. He works a number of effective counters off the bull-rush, counters that he can string together quickly until he hits on one that works, his favorite being the bull-slip, but he also uses an inside swim or a spin back outside when necessary. He also combines his lateral quickness well with a cross-chop that is accurate and devastating. For an inside rusher at the size he is, he also corners very effectively, he has more bend than he should have at his side and combined with his power it helps him to take the edge and get to the Quarterback. He also continues to use his hands as he corners, whether it be continuing to rip through to keep the OL off-balance or throwing his hand back after he gets around the corner. He finds himself double-teamed a lot as a pass rusher, in this situation, he can find ways to still get to the corner of the OL but he will also split the double team using his lateral quickness and excellent hands. When he isn’t double-teamed, the pocket isn’t staying clean for very long. He has a relentless motor and the physical toughness to maintain his high octane pass rushing style through a long game

Defending the Run

His power and quickness make him an absolute wrecking ball against the run, especially Outside Zone. When facing Outside Zone blocking, or Gap blocking that is more straight up like Drive blocks, his burst off the ball, elite hand placement and timing put him in a position to win early and quickly. He then seals this advantage with his play strength to either push the OL far back enough into the backfield that it affects the runner’s path, or that he’s able to disengage and make the tackle himself. Even for Guards playing with good leverage, his power is too much. You can see him forklift OL out of the way with his strength and technique. He is an outstanding block shedder and if you do get your hands on, they won’t stay on for long. Where he must improve as a run defender is when facing double teams or Down blocks. In both of these instances he is currently showing too much surface area to the blocker to take advantage of and move him off the ball. On double teams, he allows the OL moving to the second level to give him too much of a shove at the line of scrimmage and allows the OL to move too quickly to the second level to block a Linebacker and spring a bigger run. Because he’s so athletically gifted, you can see him get popped at the line of scrimmage but then rock back and make a play on the ball carrier after the OL has moved on. He shows some ability to corkscrew the leg an occupy a double team, and while it’s rare currently, I don’t doubt that he could do it with more instruction and practice. His pursuit from the backside of Outside Zone is outstanding and he’ll chase down runners making the bend read.

DRAFTED RAVEN COMP
Nnamdi Madubuike

PRODUCTION
Final year on campus: 6 Sacks, 4 QB Hits, 44 Total Tackles
INJURY HISTORY: None

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 5
Intelligence 3
Versatility 4
Grit 4
Scheme 3