I caught up with Walter Nolen Sr., father of five-star Michigan DT target Walter Nolen, to get his thoughts on their weekend official visit to Michigan and more.
On his overall thoughts on the Michigan:
"Overall, they did a great job. From the time we touched down to the time we left, they welcomed our family and showed us a great time. They did a great job. As far as something I won't forget about the trip, we were taking pictures, and there was a family that was touring the school. We were by the stadium, and this little girl — she couldn't have been no more than 11 years — had a cell phone and saw Walter with his uniform on. She ran up to him and was like 'Can you take a picture with me? I'm so happy to meet you!' I'll never forget that."
On the campus, facilities and other visit activities:
"The strength and conditioning coach (Ben Herbert) is so knowledgable. He's one of the best strength and conditioning coaches that I've seen on a visit. That guy is good at what he does. As far as branding, all schools talk about it. Nobody really knows how that stuff is going to turn out, but they did a good job. As a whole this weekend, they did a great job. I can't take anything away from them. They did a great job. I had seen so much on Zoom. To see it up close and personal was different. The weight room is ridiculously huge. Everything looked the way it did on Zoom. It's the same as how the tour campus. But it was great, though."
On hanging out with Jim Harbaugh at his house:
"It was great. I'm a big 49ers fan, so we (Jim and John Harbaugh) talked about that Super Bowl from a few years back. It wasn't the best conversation, but someone had to win (laughs). But it was great. I got to meet Coach Harbaugh's family. They are all great people. They have a very nice family. Coach Harbaugh is an older version of me. He's a very straightforward guy just like me. He'll speak his mind. He's like a brother from another mother."
On the rest of the staff and their message:
"We love all the coaches, even the coaches at other positions. Everybody did a great job — Coach (Shaun) Nua, Coach (Ron) Bellamy, Coach (Mike) Hart, Coach Clink (Steve Clinkscale) the strength and conditioning coach (Ben Herbert), just everybody. It wasn't all about football. I could feel that they were a tight knight group. They are very family oriented. It's just one big family."
On connecting with other parents on the visit:
"Will Johnson's family made us feel welcomed. Everybody was very friendly and nice. We're all from different parts of the country, but it seemed like family. I can see Keith (father of Kody Jones) any day (laughs). I had already done a look tour, but it was his first time going up. It was cool seeing it with him."
On how he feels about Michigan coming out of the visit:
"They did a good job. I'm sure they'll make the final list. We're going to narrow it down after these final visits. But I think Walter really enjoyed it. They did a really good job."
On what's next in their recruitment:
"Michigan was only the second official. We have three left for the fall. We've got unofricials to Alabama and Georgia this week. I'm not sure when a decision is going to come."
On his overall thoughts on the Michigan:
"Overall, they did a great job. From the time we touched down to the time we left, they welcomed our family and showed us a great time. They did a great job. As far as something I won't forget about the trip, we were taking pictures, and there was a family that was touring the school. We were by the stadium, and this little girl — she couldn't have been no more than 11 years — had a cell phone and saw Walter with his uniform on. She ran up to him and was like 'Can you take a picture with me? I'm so happy to meet you!' I'll never forget that."
On the campus, facilities and other visit activities:
"The strength and conditioning coach (Ben Herbert) is so knowledgable. He's one of the best strength and conditioning coaches that I've seen on a visit. That guy is good at what he does. As far as branding, all schools talk about it. Nobody really knows how that stuff is going to turn out, but they did a good job. As a whole this weekend, they did a great job. I can't take anything away from them. They did a great job. I had seen so much on Zoom. To see it up close and personal was different. The weight room is ridiculously huge. Everything looked the way it did on Zoom. It's the same as how the tour campus. But it was great, though."
On hanging out with Jim Harbaugh at his house:
"It was great. I'm a big 49ers fan, so we (Jim and John Harbaugh) talked about that Super Bowl from a few years back. It wasn't the best conversation, but someone had to win (laughs). But it was great. I got to meet Coach Harbaugh's family. They are all great people. They have a very nice family. Coach Harbaugh is an older version of me. He's a very straightforward guy just like me. He'll speak his mind. He's like a brother from another mother."
On the rest of the staff and their message:
"We love all the coaches, even the coaches at other positions. Everybody did a great job — Coach (Shaun) Nua, Coach (Ron) Bellamy, Coach (Mike) Hart, Coach Clink (Steve Clinkscale) the strength and conditioning coach (Ben Herbert), just everybody. It wasn't all about football. I could feel that they were a tight knight group. They are very family oriented. It's just one big family."
On connecting with other parents on the visit:
"Will Johnson's family made us feel welcomed. Everybody was very friendly and nice. We're all from different parts of the country, but it seemed like family. I can see Keith (father of Kody Jones) any day (laughs). I had already done a look tour, but it was his first time going up. It was cool seeing it with him."
On how he feels about Michigan coming out of the visit:
"They did a good job. I'm sure they'll make the final list. We're going to narrow it down after these final visits. But I think Walter really enjoyed it. They did a really good job."
On what's next in their recruitment:
"Michigan was only the second official. We have three left for the fall. We've got unofricials to Alabama and Georgia this week. I'm not sure when a decision is going to come."
