| No. 97 – Arizona Cardinals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Born | October 14, 2003 | ||
| 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) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive end | ||
| NFL draft | 2025: 1st round, 16th overall | ||
| Career history | |||
As player | |||
| |||
| Roster status | Reserve/PUP | ||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
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.
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]
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]
| 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 | ||
| 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] He began his rookie season on the reserve/PUP list due to a calf injury suffered before training camp. [16]