OXFORD — When Ole Miss football defensive coordinator Pete Golding looks at Walter Nolen, he sees many of the same attributes he once saw in a third-overall pick.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Golding drew a comparison between Nolen and another defensive lineman, Quinnen Williams, whom Golding coached for two seasons while at Alabama.

The driving force behind Golding's connection between Williams and Nolen, who moved from Texas A&M to Ole Miss this offseason as the nation's top-rated transfer, is Nolen's ability to get off the ball quickly.

"He's got elite twitch inside," Golding said. "He's very heavy-handed, especially at his size. To me, he gives you base-down flexibility to move."

After a redshirt season, Williams played two years for the Crimson Tide. He posted understated numbers during the 2017 season, then exploded for 70 tackles and 18.5 tackles for loss in 2018 on his way to first-team All-SEC recognition. In a five-year NFL career with the New York Jets, Williams has been to two Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors in 2022.

Golding believes Nolen offers his defense similar versatility. In that special 2018 season, Alabama moved Williams all around the defensive line, according to Pro Football Focus data. Golding listed five roles that Nolen can play on first and second down alone.

"And then on third down, he's got enough juice that you're not taking him off the field," Golding said. "He's got a lot of position flex. I think he can be an elite pass rusher inside, but I think he's very, very, very valuable in the run game. He's a three-down player for us. Has played in this league, right? And has continued to mature, grow up and do things the right way. So we've been really pleased with where he's at."

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Nolen is arguably the most important addition on a defensive front that Ole Miss set out to transform during the offseason, adding size and physicality to a unit that didn't always stand on the right side of the athleticism scale last season.

At 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, Nolen is a former five-star prospect who instantly makes the Ole Miss defense more imposing.

"It starts up front, I think at every level but especially in this league," Golding said. "I think we got the pieces on base down and third down that we can move around and be effective and try to stop the run and affect the quarterback."

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Ole Miss football's Walter Nolen resembles an Alabama NFL All-Pro