Michigan football 4-star commit Julian Walker flips to South Carolina
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Not every flip can go Michigan football’s way.
One of the Wolverines‘ top pledges, four-star edge Julian Walker, has changed his mind and will instead stay home. A top-10 edge in the Class of 2026, the Irmo, South Carolina (Dutch Fork) product decided he will not come to Ann Arbor after all, but instead sign with South Carolina.
Walker visited Ann Arbor last weekend for the U-M vs. Ohio State game, but it wasn’t enough to lock him in.
Walker had been committed to the Wolverines since July 1 − less than two weeks after he took his official visit the month prior – but never officially shut down his recruitment. According to his recruiting profile, Walker unofficially visited the Gamecocks in early September, then took an even harder look during an official visit in mid-October.
South Carolina has tried to capitalize on the recent downfall of Clemson and the flop of Bill Belichick at North Carolina by hitting the Carolinas hard. Six of their top seven commitments in the class that is now pushing top 20 in the nation came from one of the two states.
Walker is the No. 3 rated player in the state, the No. 10 edge in America and a top-100 player overall (No. 96) according to 247sports composite rankings. A Navy All-American Bowl invitee, Walker was one of the top four rated commits scheduled to come to Ann Arbor and represents a significant loss for defensive line coach Lou Esposito.
The Wolverines’ class was rated No. 11 in America prior to his flip, but will likely take a bit of a hit. Don’t be surprised if U-M looks to fill that void elsewhere, be it a flip of a high school recruit or more likely help in the transfer portal.
Michigan signed the majority of its No. 11 ranked class on Wednesday.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football recruit Julian Walker flips to South Carolina
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