Walter Nolen conveys Ole Miss team mentality following Kentucky loss: ‘Saturday was a really great wake-up call for us’
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen spoke to the media Tuesday following the Rebels’ 20-17 loss Saturday to Kentucky. Ole Miss now sits at 4-1 overall, 0-1 in SEC play.
Despite the disappointment, Nolen says this may have been what the team needed after easily winning their first four non-conference games.
“The mood in the locker room… Saturday was a really great wake-up call for us. I feel like we all needed that as a team, it’s been back to work. Really, just punish everybody in front of us for the rest of the season. A loss is always hard for any team. I feel like this team is doing a good job of moving on to next week. I mean, we all hated what happened last week, but it was a great thing for us. I felt like it was what we needed early.”
– Nolen on the team’s response to loss
Up to this point, the former No. 1 player in the transfer portal has been a dominant force for Ole Miss, making 19 tackles, and posting an 82.3 PFF grade, which ranks 27th among defensive tackles across the country.
#OleMiss iDL Walter Nolen III vs. Wake
Most impressive prospect that I saw while out on the scouting trail last weekend. This is the prospect many envisioned. Let’s see if it can continue. pic.twitter.com/fUBYzXBJ9T
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) September 16, 2024
Moving into the South Carolina matchup, Nolen will be faced with playing in front of a crowd full of 75,000+ SEC fans. While certain players can be affected by the crowd noise, Walter says he is actually looking forward to it.
“I feel like I play better in away situations because I really feed off the negative energy that the fans give us when we walk into an away stadium.“
– Nolen on playing in Columbia
As for the opponent itself, South Carolina is coming off of a bye week with a 3-1 record, losing only to LSU in a close one at home on Sept 14th. It’s important to remember that if it weren’t for the injury of starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers, the Gamecocks likely would’ve defeated LSU and become a ranked team.
With Sellers able to recover over the bye week, he’s expected to start this weekend against the Rebels. Nolen spoke on the challenges that are presented by Sellers and his offense.
“They are a great team. They play hard, I feel like that’s part of the reason their offense is so good because they have a quarterback who plays hard, so it’s going to be a good fight for us.”
– Nolen on the South Carolina offense
When Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen (#2) is locked in, he’s dominant at times. Outstanding athlete with explosive power. Still needs to be a lot more consistent. pic.twitter.com/eNQC3HqYmT
— Ryan Roberts (@RiseNDraft) September 30, 2024
Heading into the game, there will be several Ole Miss players, such as defensive linemen Princely Umanmielen and Jared Ivey, who have an unknown status after leaving last week’s game due to injury. But according to Nolen, the D-line is doing everything they can to ensure that they’re prepared on Saturday.
“College football, everybody is going to be beat up. The D-line, particularly, we’ve been doing pretty well as far as being in the training room and recovering every week and making sure we are ready for Saturdays.“
– Nolen on the health of the defensive line
Rebel fans, be sure to tune in this weekend at 2:30 CT on ESPN as Ole Miss takes on South Carolina. As always, Hotty Toddy!
