*** I was out in New Orleans on Friday and saw three-star Ponchatoula (La.) High athlete Amorion Walker in game action. Before we dive into his performance, let's talk about his recruitment. Obviously, Walker is committed to Notre Dame. However, I don't expect that to be the case for much longer. Even when I asked Walker about the Irish, he was very short with me. Michigan has made a strong push for Walker and is making him one of its top overall priorities this cycle. Unfortunately Rivals does not allow me to make flip picks (reason unknown), but as I've said many times, I would have put one in immediately following his Michigan visit for the game against Washington. Walker told me he wants his recruitment to be completely over by November. I am expecting a flip to happen by then.
*** Michigan assistant Ron Bellamy has been leading the way in this recruitment, and his ties to Louisiana should pay off. A native of the Bayou State, Bellamy played high school football for Ponchatoula head coach Hank Tierney. I caught up with Tierney following the game, and he showered Bellamy with compliments. It's clear that there is a trust level there that Tierney doesn't have with many other college coaches. Recruiting is a relationships business, and Bellamy's friendship with Tierney is going a long way in this recruitment. On top of that, Bellamy can pitch that he left Louisiana to play at Michigan in the same way Courtney Morgan can with prospects from California. Bellamy is doing a tremendous job of connecting with Walker and his family.
*** Alright, let's talk about Walker as a prospect. Before the game, I thought Walker was being undervalued by Rivals. His measureables are terrific. He's right at about 6-foot-3, 175 pounds and runs a verified 4.5. The length is phenomenal. So is the athleticism. On his HUDL, he goes up and gets it and shows elite level ball skills and leaping ability. His flexibility as a wide receiver or safety is another plus. But there is a reason I put so much emphasis on watching guys live. A full game can tell you so much more than just five minutes of highlights. And despite checking all these boxes, Walker is still very raw as an actual football player. Again, he's a terrific athlete, but he very much fits the theme of this cycle — high ceiling, low floor.
*** First of all, Walker is extremely thin and has narrow shoulders. I think he can add some good weight, but development in the strength and conditioning program will be key. For being a taller receiver, Walker isn't exactly physical. He tries to finesse and allows himself to be outmuscled by lesser players. A lack of aggressiveness worries me because like Nick Saban and some other P5 coaches, I feel like he best projects to safety. Can he/is he willing to tackle? I'm not so sure. His preference is to play wide receiver, where again, ball skills, catch radius, leaping ability, etc. are in his favor. However, Walker isn't a natural pass catcher. On one play in particular, Walker accelerated to get behind the defense and had a terrible drop that should have been an easy catch and score. He finished the game with just two receptions — one of which was a screen, where he fumbled. Walker mostly went deep and drew a couple of flags. He didn't show much as a route runner. Walker saw limited reps at cornerback, but I thought he looked more natural and fluid playing in the secondary.
*** I texted Rivals national analyst Sam Spiegelman, who lives in Louisiana and has seen Walker live on a number of occasions, and told him that I could see why he has him ranked so low despite his offer sheet. Like me, Spiegelman loves his athletic profile but is concerned about his ability as a pure football player. You can be a great athlete but that doesn't mean the skillset always transitions to the field. Michigan is banking that it does and trusting its eval. By the way, Michigan would take Walker as a wide receiver. Right now, Rivals has him graded as a 5.7 high three-star, 247 has him graded as an 87 high three-star and On3 has him outside the Top 300. I'm in the same boat as the recruiting services. I would grade him as a high three-star based on athletic upside and knowing the floor is low.
*** Michigan assistant Ron Bellamy has been leading the way in this recruitment, and his ties to Louisiana should pay off. A native of the Bayou State, Bellamy played high school football for Ponchatoula head coach Hank Tierney. I caught up with Tierney following the game, and he showered Bellamy with compliments. It's clear that there is a trust level there that Tierney doesn't have with many other college coaches. Recruiting is a relationships business, and Bellamy's friendship with Tierney is going a long way in this recruitment. On top of that, Bellamy can pitch that he left Louisiana to play at Michigan in the same way Courtney Morgan can with prospects from California. Bellamy is doing a tremendous job of connecting with Walker and his family.
*** Alright, let's talk about Walker as a prospect. Before the game, I thought Walker was being undervalued by Rivals. His measureables are terrific. He's right at about 6-foot-3, 175 pounds and runs a verified 4.5. The length is phenomenal. So is the athleticism. On his HUDL, he goes up and gets it and shows elite level ball skills and leaping ability. His flexibility as a wide receiver or safety is another plus. But there is a reason I put so much emphasis on watching guys live. A full game can tell you so much more than just five minutes of highlights. And despite checking all these boxes, Walker is still very raw as an actual football player. Again, he's a terrific athlete, but he very much fits the theme of this cycle — high ceiling, low floor.
*** First of all, Walker is extremely thin and has narrow shoulders. I think he can add some good weight, but development in the strength and conditioning program will be key. For being a taller receiver, Walker isn't exactly physical. He tries to finesse and allows himself to be outmuscled by lesser players. A lack of aggressiveness worries me because like Nick Saban and some other P5 coaches, I feel like he best projects to safety. Can he/is he willing to tackle? I'm not so sure. His preference is to play wide receiver, where again, ball skills, catch radius, leaping ability, etc. are in his favor. However, Walker isn't a natural pass catcher. On one play in particular, Walker accelerated to get behind the defense and had a terrible drop that should have been an easy catch and score. He finished the game with just two receptions — one of which was a screen, where he fumbled. Walker mostly went deep and drew a couple of flags. He didn't show much as a route runner. Walker saw limited reps at cornerback, but I thought he looked more natural and fluid playing in the secondary.
*** I texted Rivals national analyst Sam Spiegelman, who lives in Louisiana and has seen Walker live on a number of occasions, and told him that I could see why he has him ranked so low despite his offer sheet. Like me, Spiegelman loves his athletic profile but is concerned about his ability as a pure football player. You can be a great athlete but that doesn't mean the skillset always transitions to the field. Michigan is banking that it does and trusting its eval. By the way, Michigan would take Walker as a wide receiver. Right now, Rivals has him graded as a 5.7 high three-star, 247 has him graded as an 87 high three-star and On3 has him outside the Top 300. I'm in the same boat as the recruiting services. I would grade him as a high three-star based on athletic upside and knowing the floor is low.
