They say the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

But leave it to Amorion Walker, who had that same feeling just a handful of months ago, to be the voice of reason that it may not always actually be so.

Walker is a wide receiver-turned-defensive-back-turned-Ole-Miss-transfer-turned-Michigan-football returnee.

After the Wolverines won the 2023 national championship in January, the sentiment was becoming more and more apparent around the program that the head coach and defensive staff weren't coming back.

Not only did that hold true, with coach Jim Harbaugh leaving to take over the Los Angeles Chargers, he took more than a half-dozen staffers with him, including Jesse Minter (defensive coordinator) and Steve Clinkscale (defensive backs coach) — Walker's coordinator and position coach.

This prompted Walker, the breakout star of the 2023 spring practice session (according to coaches) who suffered a lower body injury early in the fall which sidelined him more than a month and led to just three appearances, to become one of the first Wolverines in the transfer portal.

FATHER'S DAY GIFTS: Celebrate Michigan's epic championship with Detroit Free Press books and front pages!

By Jan. 17, just more than a week after U-M was crowned, Walker pledged to move to Oxford, Mississippi, and join Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss.

“They treated me well (at Ole Miss),” Walker said last week while assisting his friend and teammate, Will Johnson, at a youth football camp in Detroit. “It was a good fit for me. The DB spot was open, and I was trying to come in and fill it in for them. The spring went well. It was all good."

Despite those positive descriptors, Walker couldn't help but feel like something was missing. The former Ponchatoula, Louisiana, star was much closer to home, sure, and was getting lined up to be compensated in various name, image and likeness campaigns, but it still wasn't Ann Arbor.

[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Michigan Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]

“The different sayings we have … it’s like at some point, it feels like those are just words on a wall or on a plaque, but once you sit through it, you live through it, you kind of play through it, you realize that they hold truth and it goes from words on a wall to words engraved in a ring," Michigan quarterback Alex Orji said. "That’s when you really feel it. You’re like, ‘Oh wow, like this really means something.’

"You kind of see different things like dudes like Amorion, and he sees how it is somewhere else and comes back just because he knows it’s a little different here."

So, exactly 104 days after Walker made public that he was leaving Ann Arbor, he announced his return.

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore confirmed it will be as a wide receiver, where U-M has seen significant turnover since the offseason — down to five scholarship players in Ron Bellamy's room prior to the portal additions of Walker and CJ Charleston (Youngstown State).

GET READY: 100 Michigan football thoughts and questions for every day until the 2024 season begins

Moore heard rumblings through players that Walker was interested in returning, then made sure to go through the proper protocol and wait for him to officially enter the portal. Once that happened, the contact came quick and the decision to return even quicker.

“Elite playmaker, fast,” Moore said at a high school football camp at Wayne State last week. “He’s been working. And he looks great. He’s long, lean — but he’s fast as ever. Super excited about him.”

Walker has long been known as a superb athlete — according to The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, in charge of the "freaks list" which had Walker at No. 12 last year after he'd reportedly been clocked with a 3.89-second shuttle drill time, which would've been the top mark at the past two NFL draft combines — but there's more to this season than simply having potential for Walker.

It's about finally breaking out.

That was supposed to be the case at defensive back last season, when he was lauded for his athleticism and discussed as a potential NFL selection by Harbuagh. However after spring, U-M brought in Josh Wallace from UMass, a signal the staff didn't think Walker was ready for a prominent role on defense.

Walker has since framed what became a disappointing individual season to a lesson he feels will be pivotal to the year ahead. He has one catch for 4 yards to his name — something he plans to change as soon as he can.

"It's going to help me a hell of a lot," Walker explained of his time in the secondary. "Playing defense, you look at things through a different lens. ... Now I know all those tips and how I'm going to approach the game and attack guys.

“I feel like I’m in the right place."

Order now: Celebrate Michigan's national title with our two commemorative books: "Blue Reign" and "Maize & Grand." You can also buy commemorative wall art of the front page of the Detroit Free Press from U-M's historic championship. 

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Amorion Walker returned to Michigan football after Ole Miss stint